Khaled Mashal

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Khaled Mashaal
Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau
In office 1996 – present

Born	1956 Silwad, Palestine
Nationality	Palestinian
Political party	Hamas
Religion	Sunni Islam

Khaled Mashal, also known as Khaled Mashaal or Khalid Mish'al^[1] (Arabic: خالد مشعل) (b. 1956) is an exiled leader of Hamas. Defamed for his role in fighting directly and indirectly against Israel's right of existence, and aims for the destruction of the country. He has been described alternately as the "political leader" of Hamas politic bureau from Syrian branch. Khaled Mashaal has in public claimed responsibility for numerous Palestinian suicide bomb attacks since the Second Intifada, which altogether have claimed numerous lives of Israeli civilians. He abides Yasser Arafat, and Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah at stark downplay with Israeli politics. He is willing to allow several truce negotations with the State of Israel, but vows to "carry on [the] struggle" if Israel refuses to allow a Palestinian state on Israeli territory. The political party Hamas, along with Hezbollah have been characterized as terrorist organization the following US and European standings, and has officially declared a no-deal situation with the organizations. ^[2]

He currently resides in Damascus.

1 Early life and Hamas
2 Assassination attempt
3 Representing Hamas internationally
4 Gilad Shalit
5 Israel's Right of Existence, Holocaust and Antisemitism
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Early life and Hamas

Khaled Mashal was born in the Silwad neighborhood of Ramallah^[3], then ruled by Jordan. He married in 1981 and has seven children. His family moved to Kuwait and lived there until 1991 Gulf War. Mashal holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Kuwait University. While at the University, he was an Islamist Palestinian leader, challenging the dominance of Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization on the campus. Mashal participated in the foundation of the Islamic Haqq Bloc, which competed with Fatah on leading the General Union for the Palestinian Students in Kuwait.

When Iraq invaded Kuwait, Mashal moved to Jordan and began his work with Hamas as one of its founders. He has been a member of the Hamas Political Bureau since its inception and became its chairman in 1996.

[edit] Assassination attempt

On September 25, 1997 Mashal was the target of an assassination attempt (because of his terrorist activities) carried out by the Israeli Mossad under orders from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his security cabinet. Ten Mossad agents carrying Canadian passports entered Jordan, where Mashal was living. They broke into a home where he was sleeping and then applied a deadly poison to his neck.^[4] 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. ^[5]

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 1999, possibly 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. ^[6]

[edit] Representing Hamas internationally

In October 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". ^[7] Mashal was named the most senior figure in Hamas after the assassination of Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi.

Mashal was a vocal critic of former Palestinian Authority President, Chairman Yasser Arafat, often refusing to follow directives issued by the PA regarding ceasefires 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, 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 would end 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 29 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".

On February 13, 2006, in an interview in Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Khaled Mashal declared that Hamas would stop armed struggle against Israel if it recognized the 1948 borders, withdrew itself from all Palestinian occupied territories (including the West Bank and East Jerusalem) and recognized Palestinian rights which would include the "right of return". This was the first time that Hamas even talked about a ceasefire to armed struggle. However Mashal has not verified for a permanent ceasefire with Israel. Mashal continued to refuse to acknowledge the Road map for peace that has gone under international recognition for Israel's right to exist, adopted by the Quartet in June 2003, "since nobody respects it". The Road map had projected the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in 2005 as an equal outcome for Israel's existence in peace.^[8]

In March 2006, Mashal met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for political talks. Russia called on Hamas to transform itself into a purely political organisation, recognise Israel's right to exist, and abide by prior peace accords with Israel.

On July 31, 2006, Mashal warned, in a Reuter interview, Palestinians everywhere against attempts to separate the Lebanese and Palestinian issues. ^[9]

On 27th of May 2008, Mashal met Khamenei in Tehran and told him, "The Palestinian nation will continue its resistance despite all pressures and will not under any circumstances stop its jihad."^[10]

[edit] Gilad Shalit

Mashal is involved in capturing an Israeli youth solider, Gilad Shalit. The media have indicated Gilad Shalit has been tortured in the darkness at his captive, being held at some unknown location. After Gilad Shalit radiated through the media, he was internationally identified as political figure to be played over with Israel for a prisoner exchange deal.

Mashal is currently involved in negotiating a prisoner exchange deal that would free captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.

The Israeli soldier was seized inside Israel near the southern Gaza Strip border after the attackers crossed through an underground tunnel near the Kerem Shalom border crossing. ^[11]

On July 10, 2006, Mashal spoke authoritatively concerning the Israeli prisoner Gilad Shalit, stating Shalit was a prisoner of war and demanded a prisoner swap. ^[12]

Meshal has claimed that Gilad is alive at November 2006.^[13]

[edit] Israel's Right of Existence, Holocaust and Antisemitism

In a Reuters interview in January 2007, Mashal said: "As a Palestinian today I speak of a Palestinian and Arab demand for a state on 1967 borders. It is true that in reality there will be an entity or state called Israel on the rest of Palestinian land. This is a reality, but I won't deal with it in terms of recognising or admitting it." In the same interview, he declined to accept the Western demand for Hamas to recognise Israel, renounce violence against it and honour previous peace agreements.[2]

"Israel is there, it is part of the United Nations and we do not deny its existence. But we still have rights and land there which have been usurped and until these matters are dealt with we will withhold our recognition," [3]

After describing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments on holocaust denial as "courageous" he stated that "...Muslim people will defend Iran because it voices what they have in their hearts, in particular the Palestinian people."^[14]
"I bring good tidings to our beloved Prophet Muhammad: Allah's promise and the Prophet's prophecy of our victory in Palestine over the Jews and over the oppressive Zionists has begun to come true." [4]

"I say to the [European countries]: Hurry up and apologize to our nation, because if you do not, you will regret it. This is because our nation is progressing and is victorious. Do not leave a black mark in the collective memory of the nation, because our nation will not forgive you." [5]

"Tomorrow, our nation will sit on the throne of the world. This is not a figment of the imagination, but a fact. Tomorrow we will lead the world, Allah willing. Apologize today, before remorse will do you no good. Our nation is moving forwards, and it is in your interest to respect a victorious nation." [6]

"Before Israel dies, it must be humiliated and degraded. Allah willing, before they die, they will experience humiliation and degradation every day." [7]

"I want to make it clear to the West and to the German people, which is still being blackmailed because of what Nazism did to the Zionists, or to the Jews. I say that what Israel did to the Palestinian people is many times worse than what Nazism did to the Jews, and there is exaggeration, which has become obsolete, regarding the issue of the Holocaust. We do not deny the facts, but we will not give in to extortion by exaggeration. As for the Zionist holocaust against the Palestinian people, and against the peoples of the Arab and Islamic nation – this is a holocaust that is being perpetrated in broad daylight, with the coverage of the media of globalization. Nobody can deny it or claim that it is being exaggerated." [8]

"Who can tell, my brothers and sisters, when we will celebrate on this podium, the liberation of the West Bank? When will we celebrate the liberation of Jaffa, Haifa, Safed, and the Negev? When will we celebrate the departure of the last Zionist from our land? Yes. Some people ask when this will happen. Say: It could be soon. Such is our faith in Allah. We have no doubt that victory will come, and that just as we liberated Palestine from the Crusaders and from the Mongols, we will regain it – pure and purified - from the Zionist occupiers." [9]