Hamas, the jihadist group elected by Gazans, is expected to hold a runoff election this week for leadership of the strip, after the first round held several weeks ago ended without a winner, Arab media reported Sunday.
2+According to the report, two jihadists are competing for the position: Nizar Awadallah and Ali al-Amudi. In the first round, neither managed to secure the required majority, partly because some voters cast blank ballots.
The race has also exposed a power struggle among Hamas’s senior leadership. According to sources in the report, Khaled Mashal has been working recently with members of the organization’s Shura Council to rally support for Awadallah. Zaher Jabarin, Hamas’s official in charge of the group in Judea and Samaria, also backs him.
2+Al-Amudi, meanwhile, has the support of Khalil al-Hayya, head of Hamas, according to the report. Al-Amudi is considered a figure who was close to arch-terrorist Yahya Sinwar, dating back to their time together in Israeli prison.
The report also said that in recent weeks, some voters have shifted their positions. At the start of the race, al-Amudi enjoyed significantly more support. According to sources, these shifts have strengthened Awadallah’s chances heading into the runoff.
2+Awadallah is considered one of the senior figures of the terror organization’s older generation and was close to terrorists Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz Rantisi. In 2021, he ran against Yahya Sinwar for leadership of Hamas’s political bureau in Gaza, in a contest that lasted several rounds and ended with Sinwar’s victory.
According to Saudi media, the current race is part of a broader reorganization at the top of Hamas following the war and the killing of a string of senior figures in the organization. The report also claimed that regional developments, including the blows to Iran and Hezbollah, have led Hamas to reassess its balance of power and the organization’s policies.