Hardliner replaces Yassin as Hamas leader

ABDEL AZIZ RANTISI, a hardliner who opposes even a temporary truce with Israel, was chosen as the new Hamas leader in Gaza last night.

The replacement for assassinated founder of the group Sheik Ahmed Yassin was announced over loudspeaker during a gathering of tens of thousands of Hamas supporters at a soccer stadium in Gaza City.

"After the assassination of the hero, the martyr Ahmed Yassin, a secret election was held in which Dr Abdel Aziz Rantisi was chosen as the new leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement," senior Hamas official Ismail Hanieh told the crowd.

The 54-year-old paediatrician opposes any truce with Israel and rejects compromise with Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority.

Rantisi spent seven years in Israeli prisons and was expelled to Lebanon for one year in 1992.

He was jailed by the Palestinian Authority for 21 months in the late 90s. He escaped an Israeli assassination attempt last June.

However, Rantisi is not expected to replace Yassin or take over the group.

Since its creation in 1987, Hamas has been run largely as a collective of senior activists in Gaza and the Arab world, with Yassin in a key role as ideologue, spiritual leader and strategist.

The Hamas hardliners are led by Rantisi and Mahmoud Zahar, a Gaza City physician. Last summer, Zahar was one of the most vocal opponents to Hamas' decision to temporarily halt attacks on Israel

In the charged climate after Yassin's assassination, the hardliners are expected to take a more prominent role. Rantisi is popular among young Hamas activists, and delivered Yassin's eulogy.

Rantisi made much of his relationship with Yassin they once shared an Israeli prison cell for several months and left the impression he was assuming the mantle of heir.

Referring to Yassin, he said: "We are the ones who gave their commitment to God and to you to continue the holy war in the service of God."

Hamas leaders said that while the killing of Yassin is a blow to morale, it would not hamper the group's operations, including its ability to carry out attacks.

"Hamas will continue in the same way Sheik Yassin taught us. Hamas has its infrastructure," Ismail Hanieh, a top Yassin aide, said.

Hamas is secretive about its organisation, though the broad outlines are known.

General policy is set by the political bureau, headed by Khaled Mashaal, based in Damascus, Syria. Other members of the bureau include several Hamas leaders in the Arab world, as well as Rantisi, Hanieh and Mahmoud Zahar in Gaza.

The Hamas military wing, Izzedine al Qassam, plans and carries out attacks on Israelis. It is headed by two shadowy figures, Mohammed Deif and Adnan al-Ghoul, who top Israel's wanted list and have been in hiding for years.

Israel said Yassin personally approved many of the hundreds of Hamas attacks which, it says, have killed 377 Israelis and wounded more than 2,000.

All top Hamas members are pledged to Israel's destruction. However, within the group, there are different views on how to reach the objective.

Palestinian analysts said Yassin led the more pragmatic wing of Hamas.