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Hamas leader shocks base, admits to 'mistake' in Gaza

Hamas leaders are divided over political bureau head Khaled Meshaal's statement that Hamas erred by attempting to rule Gaza alone for the past 10 years.
Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal (C) speaks to mourners during his mother's funeral in Amman, Jordan, September 4, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed  - RTX2O33C

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Head of Hamas’ political bureau Khaled Meshaal recently said that Hamas made a mistake when it decided to rule the Gaza Strip alone for the past 10 years. His statement led to many questions among the Palestinian people: Why did Hamas finally reach this conclusion? Is this a turning point in Hamas’ path toward Palestinian reconciliation? What are the future repercussions of this statement on the Gaza Strip?

Meshaal said during a dialogue session in Doha on Sept. 24 in the presence of his deputy Ismail Haniyeh, “Hamas made a mistake when it thought it was easy for it to rule the Gaza Strip alone following the Palestinian division with Fatah in the wake of its victory in the 2006 parliamentary elections. It thought that ruling Gaza would be easy, but discovered that it was hard.”

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