Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) announced in GAZA Saturday that the leader of the movement is a group of leaders and not as it used to have one individual and spiritual leader.

Israeli reports have recently revealed that Hamas has chosen Mahmoud Azzahar, deputy to late Abdel Aziz Rantisi who was assassinated by Israel on April 17 in Gaza, as the new leader of the movement.

Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas representative in the Palestinian highest National Committee, said that it was decided to have a plural leadership instead of having a singular leader after the movement's founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Rantisi were assassinated by Israel.

"In this particular circumstance, Hamas leadership is a group of leaders," said Abu Zuhri, adding that this strategy "is better for the movement in this particular period of time."

Abu Zuhri, a new Hamas leader who is not wanted by Israel and was selected to speak to journalists, told Xinhua that assassinating both Yassin and Rantisi "is very painful and very difficult."

"However, internally speaking, Hamas was not that much affected by loosing the two top leaders since it has a wide popular support and has so many intellectuals who are able to create new alternative of leaders for Hamas," said Abu Zuhri.

Asked about the ability of Hamas to react in revenge for killing Yassin and Rantisi, Abu Zuhri said, "our battle with the occupation is opened and it is a long-term period and won't be ended in one round or two."

"The Jewish state leaders shouldn't be happy for so long because Hamas hasn't responded yet, but we tell them it is not the time now for a response, and this won't take too long," stressed Abu Zuhri.