Hamas' political bureau

History

Ahmed Yassin, the founder of Hamas, became the first chairman of the Hamas Shura Council and de facto leader of Hamas from December 1987 until March 2004. Following his assassination, his deputy, Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi took over for only 26 days before he was assassinated by Israel.

The chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, Khaled Mashal, took over Hamas leadership; he was declared the overall and de facto leader of Hamas from April 2004. Although he had held this position from 1996, he was not the overall leader of Hamas: the chairman of the Hamas Shura Council at that time was considered to be the de facto leader. Hamas elected Mousa Abu Marzook, the previous political bureau's chairman, as the deputy chairman of Hamas Political Bureau in January 1997.

In May 2017, Ismail Haniyeh, the deputy chairman of Hamas Political Bureau, was elected by the Hamas Shura Council as the chairman of Hamas Political Bureau. Hamas also elected Saleh al-Arouri as the deputy chairman of Hamas Political Bureau. However, Al-Arouri was assassinated by an Israeli strike in January 2024. Six months later, Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran while attending for the inauguration ceremony of the President of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian.

On 31 July 2024, Khaled Mashal was selected as the acting chairman of Hamas Political Bureau until the new leader was elected. Mashal, the then-chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, was expected to lead Hamas again.

On 5 August 2024, Muhammad Ismail Darwish was expected to become the next chairman of Hamas Political Bureau. Before this, he serving as the chairman of the Hamas Shura Council from October 2023, succeeded Osama Mazini, after his killing on 16 October 2023 by Israeli strike.

However, on 6 August 2024, Yahya Sinwar was officially appointed as the next chairman of Hamas Political Bureau and de facto leader of Hamas, six days after the assassination of his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh. The announcement came after the Shura Council, the body that elects Hamas' politburo, voted unanimously to choose Sinwar as the new leader, in what was described by a Hamas official as a "message of defiance to Israel". Khalil al-Hayya was selected as the deputy chairman of Hamas Political Bureau on the same day. Previously, Al-Hayya was the deputy leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Structure of organisation and selection

Hamas inherited a tripartite organization of social services, religious instruction, and military operations overseen by a Shura Council. It used to have four different roles:

a security service (Arabic: Jehaz Aman);

a military division for acquiring weapons and conducting operations (Arabic: Al-Mujahideen al Filastinun);

a charitable social welfare division (Arabic: Dawah); and

a media branch (Arabic: A'alam).

Hamas is led both internally, in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and externally, by two groups: Kuwaiti organization (Kuwaidi), led by Khaled Mashal, and a Gaza group led by Mousa Abu Marzook, who was exiled first to Damascus and subsequently to Egypt. Following its leader Mashal's decision to demand that Iraq withdraw from Kuwait and defy Yasser Arafat's decision to support Saddam Hussein in the invasion, the Kuwaiti group of Palestinian exiles started to receive substantial money from the Gulf States. Ismail Haniyeh was selected by the Hamas Shura Council in May 2017 to succeed Mashal as the leader of Hamas.

The organization's operational actions are concealed by a veil of secrecy, making its actual structure unclear. Although this has been called into question, Hamas formally claims that the wings are separate and independent. Its wings, it has been suggested, are both distinct and united for political purposes, both foreign and internal. The wide network of informants and the depth of Israeli intelligence surveillance pose challenges to communication between Hamas' military and political wings. Field commanders were granted more discretionary authority over operations and the political direction of the militant wing was weakened following the assassination of Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi.

The Shura Council (Arabic: Majlis al-Shura), with nearly 60 members, most in Gaza, is Hamas' highest consultative body, overseeing the election of the 15-member Political Bureau (Arabic: Al-Maktab al-Siyasi). It is modeled after the Quranic idea of shura, or popular assembly, which Hamas officials claim allows for democracy within an Islamic framework. The General Consultative Council, whose members are chosen from local council groupings, replaced the Shura Council as the organization became increasingly intricate and Israeli pressure mounted.

Powers and duties

The chairman of Hamas Political Bureau was expected to rule over Hamas and all its components. However, there's some exception on its military operations, who have their own military command.

The chairman also led the negotiations for Hamas foreign relations such as negotiations with Israeli government officials for peace process, reconciliation process with Fatah and strengthen relations with other countries in the Middle East.

Location

At Hamas's inception, Mashal was in the Gaza Strip, Palestine before relocating to Amman, Jordan from 1992 to 1997 after the assassination of the group's second chairman. After that, they moved to Damascus, Syria due to conflict with King Hussein of Jordan. He resided there from 1997 until 2012.

Hamas closed its office in Damascus in 2012 after supporting the revolution against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Assad repeatedly denounced Hamas for betrayal and hypocrisy. Hamas announced in August 2023 that it intended to reopen its office in Syria.

Hamas's political leadership has resided in Doha, Qatar, since 2012, in an arrangement supported by the United States. In 2024, Hamas explored moving its political headquarters to another country, such as Oman, amidst pressure from the United States and Israel over Qatar's failure to use its leverage with Hamas to facilitate a ceasefire deal to the Gaza war.

The previous chairman, Yahya Sinwar, led Hamas from Gaza Strip, Palestine, since he also led the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip. Sinwar was the first chairman of Hamas Political Bureau to reside in Gaza Strip, doing so while the Gaza war was ongoing. The chairman of Hamas Political Bureau usually lived outside the Gaza Strip, due to the security reasons.

List of leaders

This is the list of leaders of Hamas since its inception in December 1987.

Timeline

This is the timeline of leaders of Hamas since its inception in December 1987.

This is the timeline of deputy leaders of Hamas since its inception in December 1987.

List of chairmen of shura council and political bureau of Hamas

List of chairmen of shura council

This is the incomplete list of chairman of Hamas Shura Council since 1987.

List of chairmen of political bureau

This is the incomplete list of chairman of Hamas Political Bureau since 1992.

List of deputy chairmen of political bureau

This is the incomplete list of deputy chairman of Hamas Political Bureau since 1997.

List of current members of political bureau of Hamas

The Politburo comprises 15 members elected by the Hamas Shura Council every four years. Until his death on 16 October 2024 it was headed by Yahya Sinwar, who replaced Ismail Haniyeh in August 2024 following the assassination of Haniyeh. In addition to the main Politburo, Hamas has regional political bureau elected by four regional shura council, representing the West Bank, Gaza, the diaspora / Palestinian abroad, and Israeli prisoners.

List of current members of main political bureau

This is the current list of the main political bureau of Hamas. All these members were elected since May 2017.

List of current members of political bureau in the Gaza Strip

This is the current list of the Hamas political bureau in the Gaza Strip. All these members were elected since March 2021.

List of current members of political bureau in the West Bank

List of the political bureau of Hamas in the West Bank elected since May 2017.

Saleh al-Arouri X (Chairman)

Zaher Jabarin (Deputy chairman; Chairman)

Azzam al-Aqra X

Samir Fandi X

Khalil al-Kharraz X

List of current members of political bureau in the Diaspora / Palestinian Abroad

This is the current list of the political bureau of Hamas in the Diaspora / Palestinian Abroad. All these members was elected since May 2017.

Khaled Mashal (Chairman)

List of current members of political bureau in Israeli prisons

This is the current list of the political bureau of Hamas in Israeli prisons. All these members was elected since May 2017.

Salameh Katawi (Chairman)