FILE: Israel once tried to kill Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in a botched assassination attempt now he may be the man who can open dialogue

Record ID: 397618

  • Title: FILE: Israel once tried to kill Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in a botched assassination attempt now he may be the man who can open dialogue
  • Date: 6th December 2012
  • Summary: DAMASCUS, SYRIA (FILE - MARCH 24, 2004) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) KHALED MESHAAL, POLITICAL LEADER OF PALESTINIAN MILITANT GROUP HAMAS, RECEIVING CONDOLENCES DURING MOURNING CEREMONY FOR HAMAS FOUNDER SHEIKH AHMED YASSIN, ASSASSINATED BY ISRAEL TWO DAYS EARLIER MESHAAL RECEIVING CONDOLENCES IN FRONT OF PICTURE OF YASSIN AL-YARMOUK
  • Embargoed: 21st December 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Jordan
  • Country: Jordan
  • Topics: International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA7P36PZSVNCPDFENWQNX0ACZRN
  • Story Text: Israel once tried to kill Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in a botched assassination attempt on the streets of the Jordanian capital, Amman.
    Fifteen years later, it is starting to view him in a slightly different light and Israeli analysts say he might yet prove the man who can open a dialogue between the Palestinian Islamist movement and the Jewish state.
    Meshaal is due to make his first visit to the Gaza Strip on Friday for a two-day stay to join celebrations for Hamas's 25th anniversary and to take part in what the militant group says will be a victory rally after its recent conflict with Israel.
    Israeli leaders have an alternative view of the eight-day conflagration, which ended in a ceasefire. They say they dealt Hamas a sharp blow which should deter rocket fire out of the small coastal territory for many months to come.
    They also believe the fighting distanced Hamas further from Shi'ite Iran's sphere of influence and put it squarely in the camp of Sunni Muslim powers Qatar and Egypt - with Meshaal, who has lived in exile from his native West Bank for 45 of his 56 years, the key player in this evolving regional shift.
    "In a way, Meshaal's visit to Gaza to celebrate the 25th. anniversary of Hamas foundation, is a closure of historical circle if you want," said Israeli journalist and former Mossad agent Dan Shimron in his Tel Aviv home.
    "15 years ago, it was the same Mr. Netanyahu who tried to assassinate Khaled Meshaal and now it's Mr. Netanyahu who has to deal with the rising power of Khaled Meshaal and the de-facto Hamas government in Gaza," he added.
    Netanyahu played an accidental but important role in establishing Meshaal's militant credentials when he ordered Mossad agents to kill him in 1997 in retaliation for a Jerusalem market bombing that killed 16 people and was blamed on Hamas.
    No Israeli cabinet minister in Israel would call Meshaal a moderate, at least not in public. To Israelis, Hamas is synonymous with suicide bombings and rocket fire. It is classed by Israel and its Western allies as a terrorist group and widely condemned for refusing to renounce violence and recognise Israel.
    But in recent years Meshaal has adopted a more nuanced stance, backing the idea of a long-term truce in return for a withdrawal to the lines established ahead of the 1967 war, when Israel seized East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
    "Officially there are no contacts between Israel and Hamas but the latest ceasefire proved that contacts can be made and negotiations can be held and I will not be surprised to hear that some secret negotiations between Israel and the Hamas are going on," Shimron said.
    170 Palestinians, at least half of them militants according to Israel, were killed in the latest round of violence between Israel and Hamas. Six Israelis were killed in the conflict that ended with an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire, that many believe to have strengthen Hamas.
    Hamas's internal dynamics are shrouded in secrecy, but those in Gaza have enjoyed more influence since they managed to seize control of the isolated enclave in 2007 after fighting with the allies of President Mahmoud Abbas. He exercises only limited Palestinian self-government in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
    "Prime Minister Netanyahu is quite happy with the fact that Mr. Meshaal is coming to Gaza, strengthening the Hamas in Gaza because it is in Bibi's interest to have the Palestinian Authority, or the new state if you want, divided into two parts: Hamastan in Gaza and Abu Mazen's Palestinian Authority or Palestinian government in the West Bank," Shimron said.
    Unlike four years ago, Hamas had more to cheer about at the end of the last round of fighting.
    For the first time, its missiles managed to reach the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem areas. It also showed the world that it had the solid backing of top Arab nations - most notably Egypt - whose support appeared at best lukewarm before the Arab Spring.
    These changing regional dynamics undoubtedly stayed Israel's hand. Unlike in 2009, it did not launch a ground offensive although thousands of troops with tanks were massed on the border ready to move in. And it swiftly accepted Egyptian mediation, unwilling perhaps to do anything that might irreparably damage cherished diplomatic ties with Cairo.
    The three sides are now engaged in talks in Egypt aimed at strengthening the ceasefire. Hamas demands an end to the land and sea blockade imposed in 2006, which is aimed at halting the import of arms into Gaza and which has stifled economic growth.
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