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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Hamas chief makes unlikely Gaza visit

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 12/8/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

The image of Hamas' long-exiled chief triumphantly walking around the Gaza Strip, flashing victory signs beside Islamic militant leaders Friday, illustrates how the group's defiance of Israel is forcing a change in Palestinian politics.

Buoyed by the rise of fellow Islamists in Egypt, Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal and his allies are confronting Israel with the spectre of a change in the balance of power between the two rival Palestinian factions -- Hamas and the Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah.

Mashaal, 56, who left the West Bank as a child and now leads Hamas from the Gulf state of Qatar, broke into tears Friday as he arrived in the Gaza Strip for his first-ever visit.

Once on Gazan soil after crossing the border from Egypt, he prostrated himself in a gesture of thanks. He then recited a traditional Islamic prayer and kissed the ground.

Thousands of supporters lined the streets as Mashaal and Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh drove by, waving and flashing victory signs.

Mashaal's visit would have been unthinkable just a few weeks ago. He would have been an easy target for Israel. Fifteen years ago, Mashaal was nearly assassinated in Jordan by Israeli agents who squirted a deadly poison in his ear, narrowly escaping after the U.S. forced Benjamin Netanyahu, then serving his first term as Israel's prime minister, to provide the antidote.

On Friday, Mashaal referred to the assassination attempt by "the foolish Netanyahu," saying, "God was stronger than him and his conspiracy."

But a Nov. 21 ceasefire agreement, negotiated by Egypt, has forced Israel to leave Hamas leaders alone and negotiate, albeit indirectly, with the Islamic militant group sworn to its destruction.

It appears unlikely Hamas would ever agree to sit down for peace talks with Israel. The U.S. and European Union have joined Israel in listing Hamas as a terror organization because of its history of attacks aimed at civilians.

-- The Associated Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 8, 2012 A30

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