GAZA: Khaled Meshaal has been re-elected as the leader by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Tuesday in Cairo, a Hamas official said.
The 56-year-old Meshaal has headed the group that rejects Israel’s existence and governs the Palestinian territory of Gaza, since the assassination of its founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 2004.
Meshaal, dogged by Gaza critics of his ceasefire with Israel and efforts to reconcile with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, was to be persuaded to continue as Hamas’s leader for another term, said Palestinian officials and analysts.
“The leaders of Hamas chose Meshaal‚” the high-ranking Hamas official told media via telephone from the Egyptian capital‚ requesting anonymity.
DND
