Khalid Meshaal Gaza – Mohammad Habib Hamas sources told ‘Arabstoday’ that politburo chief Khalid Meshaal’s decision to step down came against the backdrop of the occurring rift between the movement’s leadership in Gaza Strip and its leadership in Damascus concerning the Palestinian reconciliation.
The same sources ruled out the possibility of nominating Ismail Haniyeh to the post.
Meshaal met with top Hamas military wing delegates in Cairo on Thursday, according to a Hamas official. The mission, headed by Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades Chief Ahmed Jabari and his deputy Marwan Issa, urged Meshaal not to step down and stressed the importance for him to remain in command.
The Palestinian political heavyweight recently announced that he would not seek another term as Hamas’s political leader in the upcoming elections; however the movement’s Shura Council members, who convened in Khartoum three weeks ago, including Osama Himdan, Mousa Abu Marzouk, Ismail Haniyey, and Mahmoud Zahar, refused Meshaal's request to resign.
On a different note, a source in the Syrian Intelligence on condition of anonymity said: "[Meshaal] is not going back to Syria. That's the decision he's made. There's still a Hamas presence there, but it's insignificant."
Reuters news agency cited other diplomatic sources saying that Khalid Meshaal “has effectively abandoned his headquarters in the Syrian capital”.
"Meshaal is not staying in Syria as he used to do. He is almost out all the time," added the diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"In the past month he may have only stayed five days in Syria and the rest he spent in Qatar, Turkey and Egypt," said the diplomat. "But he did not close the headquarters in Syria in full and there are some Hamas officials still there."
"Our belief is that Hamas will not announce a departure from Syria even if it happened," the diplomat added.
Sources said Meshaal was currently in Egypt. However "there was no agreement to open an office in Cairo. Not yet," said the diplomat. "The expected residence for Meshaal is Qatar where he may stay most of the time until the Syria smoke has cleared."
Meanwhile, Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar stated that the movement’s Shura Council will be the one to decide who would head the politburo, explaining that no Hamas leader could nominate themselves for the position.
This came against the backdrop of rumours concerning the nomination of Ismail Haniyeh and Mousa Abu Marzouk to succeed Mashaal.
Israeli paper Haaretz stated that the reason behind Meshaal’s decision was “the controversy between Hamas' leaders in Gaza and abroad” on various issues including “the approach to Israel, the reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, establishing a Palestinian state and, above all, the relations with Syria and Iran.”
“Hamas' Gaza leader, Ismail Haniyeh, and his men decided to prove to the organisation's leaders who recently fled Damascus they could no longer impose their decisions on Gaza. The Gaza leadership's position was bolstered by the realisation that Meshaal was trying to change Hamas' struggle strategy and lead it to an historic reconciliation with Fatah, while concentrating its energies on an Arab Spring-type struggle. Haniyeh, meanwhile, is sticking to his former stance, demanding to close ranks with Islamic Jihad,” reported Haaretz.
The paper added that the head of Hamas' military wing in Gaza, Ahmed Jabril, had not said which side he supported yet.
According to Haaretz, the tension between Haniyeh and Meshaal started after the latter's reconciliation meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Cairo last November. Earlier, in May 2011, the Gaza leadership heard Meshaal announce that Hamas was "willing to give peace another chance".
In November, he added that Hamas was in favour of establishing a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, joining Fatah and focusing on the "popular struggle" without the use of firearms.
Haniyeh reacted swiftly, declaring the armed struggle a strategic choice and Hamas' only way of achieving its goals. Haniyeh made it clear in his recent visits to Egypt, Turkey and Sudan that a Palestinian state would be established in every inch of Palestine, "from the sea to the river", and Hamas would "never recognise Israel".
The confrontation between Haniyeh and Meshaal escalated in the organisation leadership's meeting in Khartoum, where Haniyeh openly criticised Mashaal.
Thus, within a few weeks, Haniyeh - who was seen as one of the most pragmatic of Hamas' leaders - turned into a hawk showing Meshaal the way out.
At the same time, Meshaal's position weakened due to fraying relations with Syria and Iran.
President Bashar Al-Assad's weakness and the riots in Syria significantly reduced the funds Syria transferred to Hamas and reduced Hamas' training in Syria. Iran also reduced funds given to Hamas.
The differences between the Hamas leaderships are also reflected in the approach to Islamic Jihad. Hamas officers in Gaza arrested Jihad activists in December and interrogated them on suspicion of planning to launch Qassam rockets into Israel. But on Tuesday, Haniyeh met a senior Jihad official, Mohammed Al-Hindi, praised his organisation and called for a unification of the two groups.
Hamas is supposedly trying to distance itself from Damascus and senior Hamas families have reportedly left Syria in recent months. The family of deputy political bureau chief Mousa Abu Marzouk left for Egypt. Two other bureau officials left Damascus this week.
Palestinian sources said most of the Meshaal family was staying in Qatar, but part of it remains in Syria. Only a few senior Hamas officials remained in Syria.
The tension between Hamas and Iran has also increased, following Hamas' refusal to heed Iran's pleas that it stays in Damascus.
Islamic Jihad, in contrast, is rapidly coming closer to Assad's regime. At the end of December, the group sent dozens of activists to train in Syria and Iran. Palestinian sources reported that the move was made after Iran pressured the Jihad leadership to openly support Assad's regime. Tehran even hinted it would stop financial support to Islamic Jihad unless it sent its activists to training courses in Syria.