The leader of Hamas will remain outside the Gaza Strip for up to a year, a senior official says.
Ismail Haniyeh left Gaza in December on his first major foreign tour since taking over as the Palestinian terror group’s leader in 2017.
“Haniyeh will remain abroad and continue to run Hamas until he has completed all the tasks and all the goals of his foreign tour,” Hamas deputy chief Khalil al-Hayya tells journalists. ”The trip could last up to a year”, he added. 🙂
Hayya admits the Iranian visit has caused tensions with Egypt, which is allied with Iran’s regional rival Saudi Arabia.
“Our brothers in Egypt rebuked us for visiting Iran, but (Hamas) has its own independent stance,” Hayya says, saying the visit strengthened “the relationship between Hamas and Iran.”