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| Recently, Mashal has acted as a vocal critic of former ] President, Chairman ], often refusing to follow directives issued by the PA regarding cease fires with Israel. Mashal is considered a key force behind this policy, along with the late ]. He attended the funeral of ] in Cairo, alongside the ]i Royal family, in ], ], on ] ]. On ] ], Mashal addressed a crowd in ], ] on the informal truce with the government of Israel that ends at the end of the year, stating that, "We will not enter a new truce and our people are preparing for a new round of conflict." | Recently, Mashal has acted as a vocal critic of former ] President, Chairman ], often refusing to follow directives issued by the PA regarding cease fires with Israel. Mashal is considered a key force behind this policy, along with the late ]. He attended the funeral of ] in Cairo, alongside the ]i Royal family, in ], ], on ] ]. On ] ], Mashal addressed a crowd in ], ] on the informal truce with the government of Israel that ends at the end of the year, stating that, "We will not enter a new truce and our people are preparing for a new round of conflict." | ||
| Speaking from Damascus, on ] ], after the shock Hamas victory in the legislative council elections Meshaal stated that Hamas had no plans to disarm. He said that Hamas was ready to "unify the weapons of Palestinian factions, with Palestinian consensus, and form an army like any independent state... an army that protects our people against aggression". |
Speaking from Damascus, on ] ], after the shock Hamas victory in the legislative council elections Meshaal stated that Hamas had no plans to disarm. He said that Hamas was ready to "unify the weapons of Palestinian factions, with Palestinian consensus, and form an army like any independent state... an army that protects our people against aggression". | ||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
Revision as of 19:10, 3 March 2006
Khaled Mashal, also known as Khaled Mashaal (Arabic: خالد مشعل) (b. 1956) is considered to be the leader of the Hamas organization, engaged in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He has been described alternately as the "political leader" of the group and the leader of Hamas' Syrian branch. He may be both. He currently operates from Damascus.
On September 25, 1997 Mashal was the target of an assassination attempt carried out by the Israeli Mossad under the direction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his security cabinet. Ten Mossad agents carrying Canadian passports entered Jordan, where Mashal was living, and injected him with a toxic substance. At the time of the assassination attempt Mashal was considered Hamas' Jordanian branch chief.
Jordanian authorities discovered the assassination attempt and arrested two Mossad agents who had engaged in the attempt. Jordan's King Hussein then demanded that Benjamin Netanyahu turn over the poison antidote, and at first Netanyahu refused. As the incident began to grow in political significance, however, American President Bill Clinton intervened and forced Netanyahu to turn over the antidote. The incident would lead Clinton to say of Netanyahu that he "cannot deal with this man. He is impossible."
Jordanian authorities later released the Mossad agents in exchange for the release of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder and "spiritual leader" of Hamas who was serving a life sentence in an Israeli prison.
In August of 1999, probably in reaction to pressure from the Clinton Administration, Jordanian police issued an arrest warrant for Mashal in advance of a visit to the country by then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright .
In October of 2002 Mashal is believed to have met with then Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during the World Assembly of Muslim Youth in Riyadh. The outcome of that meeting is unknown. According to Haaretz, supposed Hamas documents discovered by Israeli security forces described the meeting as "excellent" . Mashal was named the most senior figure in Hamas after the assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
Recently, Mashal has acted as a vocal critic of former Palestinian Authority President, Chairman Yasser Arafat, often refusing to follow directives issued by the PA regarding cease fires with Israel. Mashal is considered a key force behind this policy, along with the late Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. He attended the funeral of Yasser Arafat in Cairo, alongside the Saudi Royal family, in Cairo, Egypt, on November 12 2004. On 9 December 2005, Mashal addressed a crowd in Damascus, Syria on the informal truce with the government of Israel that ends at the end of the year, stating that, "We will not enter a new truce and our people are preparing for a new round of conflict."
Speaking from Damascus, on 29th January 2006, after the shock Hamas victory in the legislative council elections Meshaal stated that Hamas had no plans to disarm. He said that Hamas was ready to "unify the weapons of Palestinian factions, with Palestinian consensus, and form an army like any independent state... an army that protects our people against aggression".