"Mashaal is the natural leader of Hamas and must stay so if Palestine is going to be liberated," said Salah Suheil, a 44-year-old man standing on waterlogged waste ground that served as the arena for Saturday's celebrations.
Hamas, which has just fought an eight-day conflict with Israel, has been holding a secret ballot for months to determine who should head the group. Expectations that a result would emerge during Mashaal's visit appeared unfounded.
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console.log("catid body is "+catID);if(catID==120){document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none";var script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = 'https://player.anyclip.com/anyclip-widget/lre-widget/prod/v1/src/lre.js'; script.setAttribute('pubname','jpostcom'); script.setAttribute('widgetname','0011r00001lcD1i_12258'); document.getElementsByClassName('divAnyClip')[0].appendChild(script);}else if(catID!=69 && catID!=2){ document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none"; var script = document.createElement('script'); script.src = 'https://static.vidazoo.com/basev/vwpt.js'; script.setAttribute('data-widget-id','60fd6becf6393400049e6535'); document.getElementsByClassName('divVidazoo')[0].appendChild(script); }"Hamas has not yet concluded its internal election and there is nothing new in this regard," a senior Hamas source told Reuters on Saturday.