Hamas infighting gets more intense, there may be a split

Last night, armed supporters of Mahmoud Zahar surrounded the home of rival Hamas official Ghazi Hamad over comments he made.

A couple of days ago, Zahar - who is close to the Al Qassam Brigades - said that he was against any reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, and that if any agreement would let Fatah back in Gaza he would leave Hamas and create an alternative party.

Speaking to a Turkish newspaper, Hamad answered that Hamas would not allow an alternate party to be set up in Gaza, and that Hamas does not make its decisions on dictates from Tehran. Zahar has close ties with Iran.

Zahar's supporters in the Al Qassam Brigades held a tense face-off for several hours with Hamad's own armed guards, and only intense behind-the-scenes negotiations averted gunfire between the sides.

There is other drama in the ranks of the Hamas leadership, as Khaled Meshal is ending his second term as Hamas' political leader, and Gaza Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is jockeying for position to replace him. This all depends on Haniyeh's ability to leave Gaza, and the stories say that he plans to leave Gaza under the pretense of going on the Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia but really to be available to take over Meshal's position.

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