Hamas: Internal elections reflect harmony, our strength

Hamas’ internal elections are a sign that the movement holds tight to firm institutional structures and responsibilities based on consultation and elections with the participation of all its members, a senior official said.

Osama Hamdan, who serves as the movement’s foreign affairs leader, said the recent elections are proof of a number of things, “the first indication is that Hamas has a firm institutional structure allowing it to conduct internal elections and transfer power smoothly, despite the many difficulties facing the movement.”

“The second indication is that there is real deliberation of responsibilities on the basis of serious and real Shura [consultation] where the movement’s leadership is elected with the participation of all its members.”

The third indication, according to Hamdan, is that “these are established traditions within the movement, which are an asset not only for Hamas, but also for the Palestinian people.”

Read: Hamas outlines its vision for Palestine in the 21st century

Remarking on the most important challenges facing the new leadership, Hamdan said “one of the most important challenges is to continue working to restore national cohesion and reunite the Palestinian people on clear and firm grounds”.

Hamdan stressed on the importance of working to build a Palestinian national project, after the collapse of the peace process.

Another important challenge is “the conflict with the Israeli occupation, which requires the management and development of the resistance in various aspects”.

According to the Hamas official, another important challenge is running Hamas’ political relations, in a volatile and dramatically changing region in addition to managing its affairs in an international environment where there may be a certain amount of incitement, “especially by the US”.