Hamas Elects Khalil al-Hayya Leader by 35-34 Vote Over Khaled Meshaal

Khalil al-Hayya was elected head of Hamas on July 21 by a 35-34 margin over Khaled Meshaal, Al Jazeera reported, ending a nearly two-year period of collective leadership by a five-person council that had included the former deputy to Yahya Sinwar in Gaza.

The narrow outcome underscores divisions inside Hamas over its relationship with Iran. Al-Hayya’s background as a Gaza-based figure aligned with the pro-Iran current within the movement, while Meshaal had led the political bureau until 2017 and represented a different stream.

Hamas was founded in December 1987 by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Abdulaziz al-Rantissi, Salah Shihada, Abdulfattah Dukhan, Muhammad Sham’ah, Ibrahim al-Yazuri and Issa al-Nashar. Leadership had shifted over decades from Gaza to the diaspora. Mousa Abu Marzouk headed the political bureau after moving to Jordan and was arrested at John F.

Kennedy International Airport in 1995. Meshaal succeeded him and held the post until 2017.

Hamas was removed from Jordan in the late 1990s and based its leadership in Damascus for 11 years before relocating to Doha during the Arab Spring. Ismail Haniyeh later succeeded Meshaal. Iran provided financial and military assistance during the Meshaal era, though Hamas maintained a degree of independence.

The Arab Spring tested that relationship when Hamas left Damascus rather than support the Syrian government. The resulting internal rift persisted through Sinwar’s rise and the collective leadership period that followed his death. Al-Hayya now faces the task of reconciling rival currents while preserving the movement’s independence, Al Jazeera reported.