Hamas’ Meshaal Won’t Run Again; Admits Mistakes upon Taking Power

Khalid Meshaal, the Hamas terrorist organization’s leader in exile and arguably the most powerful man in the group, said in a speech on Saturday that he won’t run for reelection in next year’s internal elections. Meshaal has been in charge since his election in 2006, but there has not been an election since that time. He also told his audience that mistakes were made, hinting that one example is to have allowed the relationship between Hamas and Fatah, which oversees the Palestinian Authority, to turn toxic. Meshaal noted that Hamas is unlike other groups that arose with the Arab Spring. Hamas, like others, is an Islamist organization, but is first and foremost a “resistance group that has a political face and political Islamist thought.” Meshaal said it was too soon to begin speculation over who might be his replacement.