Ismail Haniyeh elected to another term as Hamas chief

"Brother Ismail Haniyeh was re-elected as the head of the movement's political office for a second time," one Palestinian official told Reuters following an internal election by party members. His term will last four years.

Aged 58, Haniyeh was the right-hand man to Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in Gaza, before the cleric was assassinated in 2004.

Haniyeh led Hamas' entry into politics in 2006, when they were surprise victors in Palestinian parliamentary elections, defeating a divided Fatah party led by PA Chief Mahmoud Abbas.

He became prime minister shortly after the January 2006 victory.

Haniyeh's victory caps internal elections that also saw the group's Gaza chief, Yehya Al-Sinwar, win a second term in March.