Hamas Names New Leader Ismail Haniyeh replaces longtime leader Khaled Mashaal By Rory Jones and Abu Bakr Bashir
https://www.wsj.com/articles/hamas-names-former-gaza-prime-minister-ismail-haniyeh-as-its-leader-1494077449
Hamas on Saturday named Ismail Haniyeh as head of the Islamist movement’s political arm, a long-expected leadership change that puts the Palestinian at the helm of the group that controls Gaza Strip but is facing increasing isolation from its regional supporters.
The Islamist movement said Mr. Haniyeh, 54, will replace Khaled Meshaal, who steps down after a decade in power and just days after he issued a revised set of principles that softened the group’s stance against Israel.
Hamas dropped a longstanding call for Israel’s destruction and accepted the notion of a Palestinian state based on Israeli borders before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. The group, however, said it would continue not to recognize Israel’s right to exist and would eventually seek to control all of historic Palestine, making up Israeli territory, the West Bank and Gaza.
The changes in its principles, dismissed by Israel as cosmetic, appeared aimed at appeasing Arab states that have increasingly isolated the group in recent years. Hamas also renounced its ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, a group considered a terrorist organization by Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Hamas’ diplomatic isolation comes as West Bank-based Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is trying to squeeze the group financially to force it to allow his administration back into Gaza. Mr. Abbas has cut salaries to Gazan-based Authority employees and said it won’t pay for the strip’s electricity, supplied by Israel. CONTINUE AT SITE
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