GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Just a couple of years ago, the prevailing wisdom about Hamas was that its Gaza Strip-based leaders were forced to be more moderate because they bore the brunt of economic boycotts and military clashes with Israel. Exiled Hamas bosses living in the relative comfort of Damascus, however, could afford to take a tougher stance.
But the "Arab Spring" has turned the equation on its head, with longtime hard-liners who had resided in relative comfort in Syria adopting a more conciliatory tone as they scramble for safe haven — and leaders in Gaza emboldened by the rise in neighboring Egypt of the Muslim Brotherhood, which helped create the Palestinian militant group in the late 1980s.
Gaza-based Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and former Hamas Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar are demanding a stronger overall voice in the Islamist organization, in what is becoming its most public fracture since its founding.
The Gaza faction sees little reason to make concessions and is particularly skeptical about Hamas Politburo chief Khaled Meshaal's sudden embrace of Palestinian reconciliation with the West Bank-based rival Fatah party, fearing the move will end the group's five-year run as the rulers of the Gaza Strip.
The power struggle is likely to shape Hamas' policies in the coming year, determining whether it continues on a course of reconciliation with Fatah or reverts to a more antagonistic and possibly violent path toward Israel.
"The roles have been reversed," said Michael Broening, a Hamas expert and director of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, a German-funded think tank in Jerusalem.
The split is coming to a head as Hamas holds secretive elections for its Shura Council leadership body and appoints a new Politburo chief.