Hamas re-elects Khaled Meshaal as leader

Hamas has re-elected its veteran leader, Khaled Meshaal, in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, two Hamas officials said, Aljazeera reported.

"The leaders of Hamas chose Meshaal," a high-ranking official told the AFP news agency by telephone from Cairo on Monday, requesting anonymity.

The officials said the majority of the group's Shura council members voted for Meshaal. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the secret procedure.

Meshaa, 56, who has run the Palestinian movement since 1996 from exile, was seen as a favourite. He is backed by regional powers Qatar, Turkey and Egypt and is now based in Qatar.

His re-election could revive stalled reconciliation efforts between Hamas and political rival Mahmoud Abbas, the Western-backed Palestinian president based in Ramallah, West Bank.

Meshaal has pushed for reconciliation, but has been blocked by Hamas hardliners in Gaza who fear a unity deal will give Abbas a new foothold in Gaza and weaken Hamas' grip on the territory.