Former Hamas strongman Khaled Mashaal is seeking to make a comeback, Channel 11 News reported on Wednesday.
The report on Israel's public broadcaster said that Mashaal's bid is supported by Qatar, where he resides, and Turkey, which offers top Hamas officials a safe haven in Istanbul.
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Both are seeking to increase their influence on the Islamist group, which is designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, Canada, the European Union, and Egypt.
Mashaal, who assumed Hamas' leadership in 1996, resigned in 2017, naming Ismail Haniyeh as his successor alongside Yahya Sinwar, who was named the group's military leader.
The move meant all of Hamas' leaders were based in the Gaza Strip, something Israeli defense officials said has made the group manage its conflicts with Israel more judicially, as unlike Mashaal – who was safe in Qatar – Haniyeh and Sinwar had much more to lose in case of a full-fledged war.
The official elections for Hamas' leadership are due to take place in the latter half of 2020 and are expected to conclude in early 2021. While since stepping down Mashaal has scaled down his public appearances, according to Channel 11 News, recent weeks have seen him resurface in the public eye in what is believed to be in preparation to announce his leadership bid.
The report said that Mashaal will most likely offer Haniyeh to be his deputy, casting doubt on the future of current deputy leader Saleh Arouri, who is based in Istanbul.
