Closed elections are being held right now for Hamas’ Shura Council. These elections will shape not only the future composition of the Shura Council, but also the movement’s overall leadership. Senior Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh is expected to be elected head of the movement’s political bureau — and in effect, leader of Hamas. Haniyeh left Gaza Sept. 5 with most of his family members to focus on Hamas’ fateful election campaign. This will be a new era following that of outgoing political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal.
In the past, the Shura Council was composed of dozens of religious leaders and imams, but over the years, other forces have entered the council. They include well-educated individuals and professionals from Gaza and the West Bank as well as top Palestinian lecturers from well-known universities around the world. These members keep their Shura Council affiliation a secret. The list of council members is confidential out of concern for the threat of Israeli assassination of Hamas officials. However, over time, their names have been occasionally leaked as the threat has declined.
From intelligence gathered over the years (for example, interrogations of Hamas prisoners in Israeli prisons), it is possible to assemble an almost complete profile of the Shura Council. It shows how the movement has changed over time, consistent with processes taking place within it. For example, when Hamas became a political movement, its leadership’s center of gravity shifted. The composition of the Shura Council shifted from religious figures to members of the political wing.
In the elections currently underway, the makeup of the Shura Council is expected to radically change once again. A high-level source in the Gaza Strip told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that this time, the movement’s military wing, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, is more adamant than ever to be part of the council and participate in mapping out its future path. The desire of high-level military members to compete for a foothold in the council was inevitable. Ever since Hamas took control of Gaza and following the subsequent frequent armed conflicts with Israel, power has been concentrated in the military wing, where crucial decisions are made — sometimes over the heads of the political echelon and against resolutions of the Shura Council.
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