Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal has set an ambitious agenda for his new term, seeking to transform his Islamic militant movement that rules Gaza into a widely recognized political force, but without making concessions toward Israel needed for international acceptance. Re-elected last week, Mashaal will try to deepen ties with regional powers Qatar, Turkey and Egypt, which have already given money or political support to Hamas-run Gaza and could be conduits to the U.S. and Europe, several leading Hamas figures said.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi GAZA (Reuters) - Human Rights Watch accused the Islamist Hamas government in Gaza on Thursday of failing to investigate the summary executions of seven Palestinians alleged to have spied for Israel during a brief war last November. Ihab al-Ghusain, head of the Hamas government media office, denied the allegation and said an inquiry headed by the prosecutor general was set up shortly after the incidents and had made recommendations to the cabinet. He did not elaborate.

The Palestinian Hamas group re-elected the relatively pragmatic Khaled Meshaal as its leader on Tuesday, despite past criticism of him by hard-liners in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. A diplomat in the region said Egypt and Qatar had lobbied strongly on behalf of a reluctant Meshaal before the vote in Cairo by about 60 Hamas leaders who had met through the night. Born in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Meshaal, 56, has lived in exile for decades and, like his Hamas comrades, rejects Israel's right to exist.

Senior Hamas figures gathered for the last stage of internal elections on Monday in Cairo, where two officials in the militant movement said a new leader may be announced later in the day. Qatar-based Khaled Mashaal, who has run the Palestinian movement since 1996, is seen as the front-runner.