Meshal reelected Hamas political leader for 4 more years

Khaled Meshal, the head of the Hamas Political Bureau in Damascus, has been reelected to his post for four additional years, the Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported on Monday.

The decision was the result of an election held in recent days by senior Hamas leaders.

Also according to the report, Osama Hamdan, the Hamas representative in Lebanon, will replace Muhammad Nazzal in the organization's political bureau.

Sources in Hamas told Ma'an that Gaza-based Hamas political figures and members of the Gaza Strip's local Shura council traveled from the coastal strip to Damascus recently in order to participate in the election.

The political bureau is made up of 15 senior Hamas members.

According to the sources, the decision to replace Nazzal was due to the fact that his local consultative council decided not to nominate him as a candidate.

Though it is not required that the head of the political bureau be from outside the Palestinian territories, senior Hamas figures prefer this to be the case so that the leader is able to embark on official trips throughout the world.

Hamas also elected an executive office consisting of 25 members: the 15 members of the political bureau as well as 10 members of the General Consultative Council.

West Bank Hamas members did not participate in the election as they were unable to travel to Damascus due to Israeli military restrictions.

Additionally, Ishmail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, has appointed Fathi Hamad as Hamas' new interior minister in Gaza, replacing Said Siam, who was killed by Israeli forces in Operation Cast Lead.