Who Is Khaled Meshaal, The Most Likely Successor Of Ismail Haniyeh (X image@KhaledAbuToameh)
Ismail Haniyeh was one of the top most officials of Hamas resistance group. He was the most resonated diplomatic voice. He held talks and negotiated with the world leaders on the movement’s behalf. With his assassination, West Asia is fragile with possibility of wider and greater conflagration of the ongoing barbaric war in the region.
Hamas claims that they are an ideology that cannot be replaced, and was prepared to lose their members in the path of liberation. The movement has a history of replacing the fallen leaders in swift and smooth way.
The “martyrdom” of Ismail Haniyeh, one of the founding members of Hamas and its political head, came at a time when the resistance group of Gaza is under severe pressure since the war in Gaza started nearly 10 months ago, following the group’s attack on southern Israel.
When asked about the possible replacement of Haniyeh, one of the senior officials of Hamas told news agency AP, “We are not discussing this matter now”.
Also Read: Who Is Ismail Haniyeh, The Pragmatic Head Behind Hamas?
However, reports citing analysts and other Hamas officials suggest that Haniyeh’s most likely successor is Khaled Meshaal, his deputy-in-exile who lives in Qatar. Under Meshaal, Hamas emerged as an ever more important player in the Middle East conflict due to his charisma, popularity and regional standing, analysts said.
Meshaal narrowly survived an attempt on his life in Jordan ordered by Netanyahu in 1997. He was injected with poison in a failed assassination attempts by the Israelis while he was in Jordan.
Though he was mainly in exile, he became a central figure of Hamas. Since late 1990s, he has been a key player in negotiations and diplomatic talks.
Who Is Khaled Meshaal?
Meshaal was born in Silwad, near the West Bank city of Ramallah. When he was young, he moved to the Gulf Arab state of Kuwait, with his family, as a result of the Six-Day War in 1967. Meshaal joined Muslim Brotherhood at the age of 15. Brotherhood was instrumental in the formation of Hamas in 1987 during the First Intifada.
He joined Brotherhood in 1971. Graduated from Kuwait University with a bachelor of science degree in physics in 1978.
As a 19-year-old, Meshaal visited historical Palestine in 1975 for two months for the first time since the occupation began in 1967. He was able to travel extensively in both Israel and the occupied territories. The trip deepened his feelings for his homeland and his sense of the losses in 1948 and 1967.
Also Read: Not Aware Of Or Involved In Hamas Chief’s Assassination: US
Mehsaal became the leader of the Kuwait branch of Hamas. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, he and the rest of Hamas’ leadership in Kuwait relocated to Jordan. In 1992, he became the founding member of Hamas politburo.
In 1997, Mossad agents acting under orders from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his security cabinet attempted to assassinate him. The agents entered Jordan on fake Canadian passport and disguised as tourists. They waited at the entrance of Hamas office in Jordan, and injected Meshaal with a fast-acting poison.
Meshaal’s bodyguard, who were suspicious of the attack before, acted swiftly and were able to chase the agents down and capture them.
Also Read: Why Hostage Exchange Is Critical For Israel
In an interview, he described the attack as “a loud noise in my ear … like a boom, like an electric shock.” Though at first he thought he was okay, later in the day he developed a severe headache and began vomiting. He was rushed to a Jordanian hospital where his condition rapidly deteriorated.
Jordan’s King Hussain threatened Netanyahu to sever diplomatic relations, and demanded for an antidote for the poison. The King feared that the death of a Hamas leader would trigger riots in his kingdom, and even a civil war. Netanyahu refused, and the incident quickly grew in political significance.
Also Read: Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas Political Head, Assassinated In Iran
With the relation between the two countries declining rapidly, King Hussein threatened to severe the historic 1994 peace between the two countries if Meshaal died. At last US President Bill Clinton intervened and compelled Netanyahu to turn over the antidote, and Netanyahu agreed.
Reportedly, only two of the Mossad agents involved in the assassination attempt was released after getting the antidote. Others were used to negotiate for the releasing of founder of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed Yasin.
Meshaal, Hamas’ “external leadership” was expelled from Jordan by King Abdulla II. The King feared that the activities of Hamas and its Jordanian allies would jeopardize peace negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, and accused Hamas of engaging in illegitimate activities within Jordan. In mid-September 1999, authorities arrested several Hamas leaders, including Meshaal. They charged with being members of an illegal organization, storing weapons, conducting military exercises, and using Jordan as a training base, which they denied.
Also Read: How Can Mediation Succeed When One Party Assassinates The Negotiator?: Qatar
He then started living in Qatar, and moved to Syria in 2001.
Under his and Haniyeh’s leadership, Hamas won a landslide victory in 2006 in Gaza. He has been living exile in different parts of the world, and this garnered him the title Hamas’ “external leadership”.
Meshaal played key role in the historic prisoner exchange deal of the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange for over 1,000 Palestinians in Israeli prison.
Meshaal left Damascus in 2012 and returned to Qatar. Hamas distanced itself from the Syrian government and closed its offices in Damascus. Soon after, Meshaal announced his support for the Syrian opposition, prompting Syrian state TV to issue a “withering attack” on him.
He resigned from the post of chairman of Hamas politburo in 2017. He was succeeded by Ismail Haniyeh.
