Hamas chief Ismail Haniya was assassinated on Wednesday in Iran’s capital Tehran. Hamas has called for revenge by holding Israel responsible for Haniya’s murder. After Haniya’s death, Hamas’s second most powerful senior leader, Khaled Mashal, can take over the responsibility of the organization.
In one of its reports, news agency Reuters has quoted Hamas sources as saying that Hamas can appoint Mashal as its head.
Who is Khalid Mashaal?
Khaled Mashal was born on 28 May 1956 near Ramallah, West Bank. At the age of 15, he joined the Egypt-based Sunni Islamic organization Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas was formed in 1987 with the help of Muslim Brotherhood.
Time magazine has given Khaled Mashal the title of “The Man Who Haunts Israel”.
Mashal was Hamas chief before Haniya
Khalid Mashal has also been a teacher. In 1992, the Political Bureau of Hamas was established and Mashal was one of its founding members. Mashal became the head of Hamas’ political bureau in 1996 and stepped down from the post in 2017 after his term limits expired. After Mashal’s removal, Ismail Haniya became the head of Hamas.
68 year old Khalid Mashal has been working since exile. From 2004 to 2012, he ran the group from the Syrian capital, Damascus. He now lives in both Qatar and Egypt’s capital Doha and Cairo.
In 2017, Khaled Mashal had said in an interview to Al Jazeera, ‘I am one of the founders of the organization. I have been with the organization since day one. I have been a part of Hamas before the official announcement of its formation in 1987. Hamas advocates the independence of all of Palestine but is ready for a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders without recognizing Israel or giving it any rights.
When Khalid survived even the poison given by Israel
Khaled Mashal has been on Israel’s radar. In 1997, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered to kill him. Israeli agents gave him a poison injection outside his office in Amman, Jordan.
The then Jordanian King Hussein was enraged by this deadly Israeli attack on Khaled Mashal. He had demanded from Israel that the murderers who poisoned Mashal should be hanged and an antidote should be sent so that Mashal could be cured. He threatened Israel that if Israel did not do so before midnight, he would break Jordan’s peace agreement with Israel.
As per Jordan’s instructions, Israel sent the antidote and also freed Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. However, Israel killed Yasin in Gaza only after 7 years.
Khaled Mashal handles the foreign affairs of Hamas
While living in exile, Mashal represents Hamas in meetings with international governments. The rest of Hamas leaders are under travel ban from Israel but Mashal, who is living in exile, is spared from it. He is an important face of Hamas’ foreign policy.
Controversy in India regarding Khalid Mashal
There has been controversy in India also regarding Khalid Mashal. On October 27 last year, he addressed an online rally organized by the Solidarity Youth Movement of Kerala in support of Palestinians.
During this, Mashal had said that the world should support Palestinians in liberating Al-Aqsa Mosque from Israel and saving Palestinians from Israeli terror. Kerala BJP Chief K Surendran was enraged by the participation of the Hamas leader in the online rally and demanded that legal action be taken against the organisers.