Iran Press/Middle East: In an interview with the Al-Resalah newspaper published on Tuesday, Khaled Mashal said: "Hamas renews its shura and executive councils every four years."
He added: "The internal elections have been treated as a holy issue by Hamas, believing this is the legal way to lead and run the movement based on the choice of its basis and depth."
Mashal noted that the internal elections will be held in the coming months and all of its institutions will be renewed, emphasizing that: "Any elected leadership is trusted and respected by everyone."
Meanwhile, he said that his movement, in cooperation with other national partners, has maintained Palestinian constants, including Jerusalem al Quds and the right of return.
Mashal reiterated that Hamas is open to all Palestinian factions and has cooperated with them on the basis of partnership and resistance.
The senior Hamas official called on the Islamic and national parties in the Arab world not to provide a cover to normalizing ties with the Israeli occupation, confirming that normalizers lie to their people about the outcomes of forging ties with the Israeli occupation.
He also confirmed that the movement is dealing with international and regional changes wisely, highlighting that the movement puts faith in the awareness of the Palestinian people and the Arab peoples.
Commenting on the reports of a prisoner swap deal with Israel, Mashal affirmed that the remarks of the Israeli officials about a prisoner swap deal are not factual, stressing that no progress has been made on this issue.
Mashal described the performance of the Palestinian political institutions as "weak", noting that this has increased the Palestinian divide and that the solution is to restructure these organizations.
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