Senior Hamas leader refutes claims over movement's split

A senior member of the political bureau of Hamas, Izzat Al-Risheq, denied claims that there are differences between the movement’s military and political leadership, describing such reports as baseless and aimed at distorting the movement’s image.

In a statement posted on Facebook yesterday, Al-Risheq said his movement has transparent institutions which manage the dialogue among its members.

“Our movement has its own national identity in the Palestinian society and its national project based on the spirit of understanding,” he said.

The Doha-based leader added: “This does not mean that we do not have different opinions on the Palestinian, regional or international developments but those views are discussed internally to come up with a unified position.”

Al-Risheq described reports claiming members of the movement had differences between them as baseless saying: “The allegations that emerge from time to time from Arab and Israeli media outlets and some political spheres about difference among the movement’s members are baseless and desperate attempts to deceive the public opinion into believing that Hamas has splits, but they have failed every time.”

“We have explained on more than one occasion the decision-making mechanisms in Hamas where every component in the movement, whether political or military agree on the movement’s main objectives and do not need detailed instructions, this is entrusted to the military leadership which is the subject of our absolute trust and respect,” he added.