Thousands gather in Green Battalion Square to celebrate Hamas anniversary Gaza – Mohammed Habib Hamas leader, Khaled Meshaal crossed into the Gaza Strip on Friday for his first-ever visit to the Palestinian territory. Accompanied by his deputy, Mussa Abu Marzuk, and other senior officials, he drove through the crossing and then kissed the ground before embracing Gaza\'s Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. Meshaal\'s visit ends 45 years of exile from Palestinian Territories. The visit marks the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Hamas movement.
The chief of Islamic Jihad, Ramadan Shallah, is also expected to attend the anniversary celebrations, but a source inside the movement said he would likely cancel the trip over Israeli objections. \"The Egyptians told Ramadan Shallah that Israeli leaders would end the ceasefire if he came to Gaza,\" an anonymous source said.
Hamas official Sayed Abu Musameh said that Meshaal\'s visit was “a new experience for the movement,\" adding that \"the group can no longer be ignored on the world stage.\" On reconciliation, he said: “Intentions alone are not enough.” Attitudes towards Hamas have varied among Arab and Islamic regimes but Hamas leader Ahmed Yussef said the movement has been the “closest to the pulse on the Palestinian street” over its 25-year history, but accepted that the Palestinian division and Gaza blockade had “weakened the movement’s status.”  The recent war, however, helped Hamas retrieve much of its popularity Yussef said, adding that Hamas has also “come to realise that it cannot exclude the Fatah Movement.”
Fatah’s Gaza official, Dr Yehia Rabbah has meanwhile said Hamas’ religious origins have not prevented it from being “a political creature,” capable of adapting to changes if necessary. Assessing Hamas in government, Rabbah restricted his response to noting that Hamas’ conduct in the last Israeli war on the Gaza Strip was “better than in 2008,” citing the absence of food shortages. Political analyst Hamza Ismail Abu Shanab said that Hamas “continues to face obstacles in contact with the external world, despite its success in imposing itself as an important part of the Palestinian equation.” On how the movement was being received locally, Abu Shanab said there was “as much approval of its performance as disapproval.”
In somewhat of a contrast, writer and analyst Mostafa al-Sawaf reported a “huge popular welcome” that the exiled leader received as “evidence of the Palestinian people’s backing of the Hamas movement.” He explained that Meshaal’s visits to the homes of the late Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and the late Ahmed al-Jabari send a “clear message to Hamas critics that it is still the same movement that Sheikh Yassin founded,” and that it will “continue to adhere to the resistance option set up by Commander al-Jaabari.” Al-Sawaf added that the visit will “reconfigure the picture” in Palestine by “achieving reconciliation and uniting Gaza and the West Bank.” The anniversary event, he added, “provides a positive climate” for reconciliation, which he said was dependent on the “sincere intentions” of Fatah to do so.
Dr Hani al-Bassous agreed with this sentiment, predicting that Hamas would “lead the Palestinian people toward liberation and independence” with its “great popularity and overwhelming majority on the ground.” Suggesting that reconciliation is at hand, Al-Bassous said Hamas would be the most powerful player on the Palestinian scene “due to its strength in the street.”
“The latest war on Gaza has helped raise Hamas’ status within Palestinian society and in the Arab world,” Al-Bassous said. The conflict, he added, increased “trust” in Hamas and cemented its position as the “legitimately elected” ruler of Gaza. On Meshaal’s safety in the Gaza Strip, the analyst said the Hamas chief felt “secure” that the resistance is “capable of deterring occupation forces,” despite fears by Hamas security officials that Israel may attempt to assassinate the movement’s chief.
Khalil Chahine said the recent Gaza conflict had given Hamas “legitimacy” and something akin to international recognition of its rule in the Gaza Strip. Chahine added that Meshaal’s vision was “realistic” and in line with “the beginning of the political transformations that the movement is undergoing” as well as “the role it could play in the Palestinian political system.”
Analyst Hassan Abdu has also said the visit by Meshaal and other members of the Hamas Politburo “would not have happened if not for the victory that the Palestinian resistance achieved against the occupation during the eight-day Israeli aggression against the coastal strip.” The visit, he added, continues the path of “the Operation Shale Stones victory.”  Abdu is another analyst who anticipates that the visit will help accelerate the reconciliation process, referring to the presence of Fatah members as well as representatives of other Palestinian factions in the reception committee that welcomed Meshaal at the Rafah border crossing.
Israeli daily Haaretz has also discussed the visit in the context of a post-war revival for both Hamas and Meshaal himself, who helped “christalise” the ceasefire deal, noting his newfound ability to “move freely around the Gaza strip” and expecting that he will remain in his post. In this new reality, the newspaper said, talk of a reconciliation agreement is no longer “an illusion”.
An informed Hamas source has confirmed that the organisation is leaning towards renewing Meshaal’s term as head of the movement and will announce the news on Saturday at the anniversary festival.  Meshaal, the source said, was persuaded by members of the politburo not to leave his post as he had intended. The renewal, according to the source, is unanimously agreed and will not involve an election. Khaled Meshaal has led the movement for the past 16 years, taking the helm from his now-deputy Moussa Abu Marzouk. Meshaal had frequently expressed his wish to vacate his post in order to make room for other leaders. The sources suggested that recent developments, including the November killing of Hamas military commander Ahmed al-Jaabari, played a part in Meshaal’s change of heart.
The source said the renewal will be announced by the head of the dismissed Hamas government in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, and will be the “surprise” of the festival.