Khalid Meshaal is a name that has suddenly become a topic of discussion after the killing of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Meshaal became famous worldwide in 1997, when Israeli agents unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate him on a street outside his office in Amman, the capital of Jordan. He was injected with poison. This attack was carried out on the orders of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

After this, the then King Hussein of Jordan became angry. He talked about hanging the potential killers and cancelling Jordan’s peace treaty with Israel. He threatened to hand over the poisonous medicine. After this, Israel handed over the medicine to them and released Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yasin. About seven years after this incident, he was assassinated in Gaza.

According to a report by India Today, for Palestinian supporters, Meshaal is a leader fighting for freedom from Israeli occupation. He is the man who keeps their cause alive even when international diplomacy fails.

Meshaal was given a position in Hamas a year before the attempted assassination. He then represented the Palestinian Islamist group in meetings with foreign governments. Hamas sources said Meshaal was expected to replace Ismail Haniyeh as Hamas’ top leader. He was assassinated in Iran on Wednesday morning. Tehran and Hamas have vowed retribution against Israel.

Meshaal’s relations with Iran have been strained over its support for the Sunni Muslim-led uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2011. Meshaal was part of Hamas’ top leadership team in the 1990s. After Yassin’s death in an air strike in March 2004, Israel killed Abdel-Aziz al-Rantisi in Gaza a month later and Meshaal took over overall leadership of Hamas.

Soft stance towards Israel

Meshaal rejects the idea of ​​a permanent peace deal with Israel, but has said Hamas could accept a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem as a temporary solution in exchange for a long-term ceasefire. Meshaal said the October 7 Hamas attack had put the Palestinian issue back at the center of the world agenda.

He urged Arabs and Muslims to join the fight against Israel and said that the Palestinians will decide who will rule Gaza after the current war ends. Let us tell you that Israel and America want to keep Hamas out of the post-war governance.