Last Saturday the political head of the terrorist group Hamas appeared in Cairo, Egypt. Khaled Meshaal has risen to become the leader of the group
following the assassination of leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and his successor Abdelaziz Rantissi by the Israelis earlier in the year. Meshaal is
currently at the head of Israel�s most wanted list. Following a suicide attack that Hamas claimed responsibility for, Israel said it would assassinate
Hamas leaders at home or even in other countries. Meshaal has already survived one Mossad assassination attempt in 1997. The attempt occurred in
Jordan which 5 years ago expelled Meshaal and other Hamas members for �illegal� activities. Since then he has split his time between Syria, Lebanon,
and various Persian Gulf states. Recently under pressure from the US, Syria has closed down the Hamas offices in Damascus.
story.news.yahoo.com
CAIRO (AFP) - Khaled Meshaal, the political chief of the Palestinian Hamas movement who is at the head of Israel's most-wanted list, has surfaced in
Egypt, Cairo airport sources revealed.
The Damascus-based Meshaal emerged as the undisputed leader of Hamas this year after the movement's spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and his
successor Abdelaziz Rantissi, were both killed in Israeli air strikes in Gaza City.
The Egyptian sources said Meshaal -- who escaped an Israeli attempt on his life in 1997 -- arrived in Cairo late Saturday and was escorted to an
undisclosed location.
Several Palestinian groups had been expected to gather in Cairo on Sunday, but Palestinian foreign minister Nabil Shaath was quoted by an Egyptian
newspaper as saying the inter-faction dialogue had been postponed until early October.
Meshaal's arrival in Cairo is unlikely to please the authorities in Israel, which signed a peace deal with Egypt in 1979 although relations have
soured since the outbreak of the intifada in late 2000.
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HAMAS is an acronym for "Harakat Al-Muqawama Al-Islamia". Or the Islamic Resistance Movement. Located primarily in Gaza and the West Bank Hamas is
committed to using political and violence to attain its goal or destroying Israel and establishing Islamic Palestinian State in its place. Founded in
1987, Hamas is an offshoot of the lesser know Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood has some of its basis in the teachings of an obscure cleric
by the name of Ibn Taymiyah. Taymiyah felt that Islam needed purification at any cost: �Death of the martyrs for the unification people in the cause
of god and his word is the happiest, best, easiest, and most virtuous of death�
Khaled Meshaal may be in Egypt to meet with other Palestinian groups, but others have indicated that the meeting had been postponed. While Israel and
Egypt currently have a peace treaty, it has been strained since the 2000 Palestinian uprising. The presence of Khaled Meshaal may put further strain
on the relationship.
Related News Links:
www.hamasonline.org
[edit on 20-9-2004 by FredT]