GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) – The Islamic militant group Hamas held a leadership election on Tuesday in its stronghold in the Gaza Strip, a race with deep implications for its relations with Israel and other local players, as well as the upcoming Palestinian election.
A Hamas official said the field had shrunk to a tough race between Yehiyeh Sinwar, the group’s current leader, and Nizar Awadallah, a co-founder of the movement. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he had discussed internal deliberations of the secret group.
The Gaza Strip is the most important area of Hamas. The Islamic group, which opposes Israel’s existence, in 2007 violently adopted the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority over the area.
Since then, he has waged three wars and numerous skirmishes against Israel and held power despite a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade that devastated the economy.
Sinwar is a former member of the group’s militant wing who spent more than two decades in an Israeli prison after being convicted of murdering two Israelis. He was released in 2011 in exchange for prisoners. Sinwar maintains close ties with the militant wing and has often promoted a confrontational approach to Israel.
Awadallah was one of the founders of Hamas in the late 1980s and has closer ties with the group’s political leaders. However, little is known about his position on important issues.
The Hamas leadership race comes ahead of the Palestinian parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for May and July. It was not immediately clear what effect this would have.
Tuesday’s election could also have far-reaching consequences for Hamas’ dealings with Israel as well as other regional powers.
The group was divided into competitive camps. One is loyal to Israel’s arch-enemy, Iran, and maintains continued military confrontations with Israel. The other camp, backed by local players Turkey and Qatar, favors a more pragmatic approach in hopes of easing the blockade.
The election in Gaza is part of a broader process to elect the group’s political bureau, or the central decision-making body. The process began in February and is expected to begin by the end of the month.
The group’s supreme leader is Ismail Haniyeh, a former leader in Gaza who has lived in exile in Qatar and Turkey for the past two years.