Meshal loses control of Hamas military wing as authority moves to Gaza leadership

02.05.2012                      10.Ijar. 5772                    Tag 25 des Omer

Hamas-Machtkampf:

Meshal loses control of Hamas military wing as authority moves to Gaza leadership

Hamas denies Haaretz report on results of a secret election but senior officials confirm Ismail Haniyeh won by significant margin; Khaled Meshal expected to keep post but lose control of budget, military.

Hamas political bureau head Khaled Meshal, who now resides in Qatar, is expected to keep his post after an internal vote by the organization's leadership later this month. But sources have told Haaretz that Hamas leaders have decided to transfer some of Meshal's critical areas of authority to the leadership in the Gaza Strip, including control of the organization's budget and of its military wing.
Meshal's sole control of Hamas' purse strings has effectively given him control over Iz al-Din al-Qassam, the Gaza-based military wing of Hamas. The shift that now seems to be in the pipeline is part of the reorganization of Hamas, since the movement's leadership left Damascus in the wake of the unrest in Syria. Meshal moved to Qatar, while Moussa Abu Marzouk, his deputy and one of his rivals, went to Cairo….