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Khaled Meshaal

khaled meshaal

Khaled Meshaal

Hamas leader and political chief

(Born 1956)

Meshaal was born in 1956 in the Silwad neighbourhood of Ramallah. In high school he formed friendships with other young people associated with the Egyptian-originated Muslim Brotherhood movement and consequently became involved in religious activism. He officially became a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1971 and left school on many occasions to join the Fedayeen. While a physics student at Kuwait University, Meshaal directed the efforts of Islamist Palestinians in challenging Yasser Arafat's PLO on the campus. He also led the ‘List of Islamic Right' group in the university's student union.

In the 1980's, Meshaal was involved in the growth of Hamas as it developed in several locations. He rose to position of prominence in the organisation during the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, where Meshaal was working as a physics teacher. Following the invasion he moved to Jordan, where Palestinians represented roughly 60% of the population. In Amman he headed Hamas's bureau in the capital, focusing on increasing the group's ties with Syria and Iran. He also managed Hamas's international fundraising, bringing in money for social welfare programmes in the West Bank and Gaza, but also for terrorism against Israelis. In 1996 he was chosen to be the chairman of Hamas's political bureau.

He survived an attempt on his life by Israel in September 1997, in which disguised Mossad agents injected his left ear with poison. King Hussein of Jordan demanded that then-Prime Minister Netanyahu hand over the antidote to the poison, which saved Meshaal's life.

In November 1999 he and three other Hamas leaders were expelled from Jordan to Qatar when King Abdullah shut down Hamas operations in the Kingdom. Accused of breaching an arrangement regarding the presence of the movement in the country, Meshaal was first imprisoned for a short time and then left for Qatar upon his release. From there he then moved to Syria and assumed the role of heading the Damascus branch of Hamas.

In February 2003, Meshaal announced that Hamas rejected calls by Egyptian officials to halt attacks on Israelis. Later that year he was named to the US State Department's list of "terrorist financiers."

Meshaal, who has long held the position of Hamas political chief, was selected as overall leader of Hamas following the death of Sheikh Yassin in March 2004. He holds firmly to the belief that Israel does not exist, stating that Hamas will continue to fight "the Zionist enemy" until the ‘Arab Islamic Republic of Palestine' becomes a reality. He is now believed to be in Damascus, Syria. Analysts have said that placing Meshaal at the head of the organisation signifies the increasing authority of exiled Hamas leaders following the death of Sheikh Yassin. Speaking at a memorial ceremony for Yassin, Meshaal declared that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has become a valid Hamas target.

He is married and the father of three daughters and four sons.

(Sources: BBC Online, Jewish Virtual Library)

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