(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Khaled Abu Toameh - For both Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the head of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas's "political bureau," Ismail Haniyeh, has long been a political rival whose departure from the Palestinian political arena will not be missed. Public opinion polls conducted by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research over the past decade have consistently shown that Haniyeh is the only Hamas leader who could defeat Abbas in a Palestinian presidential election. Abbas and the PA leadership were also concerned about Haniyeh's success in the diplomatic and international arena, where he was often received during visits to Arab and Islamic countries as a legitimate leader of the Palestinians. Haniyeh was one of several Hamas leaders who left Gaza in the past few years. According to Palestinian sources, they did not feel comfortable in the presence of Yahya Sinwar, especially after he - together with Mohammed Deif and slain Hamas operative Saleh Arouri - took complete control of Hamas's armed wing. Sinwar and Deif did their utmost to marginalize and humiliate Haniyeh. According to some reports, Sinwar and Deif were unhappy with how Haniyeh and the outside leadership of Hamas were conducting the ceasefire negotiations. The writer, a veteran Israeli journalist, is a senior fellow at the Jerusalem Center.
2024-08-01 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive