Khaled Meshaal: A Potential Successor for Hamas Leadership

July 31 – Khaled Meshaal is seen as the next leader of Hamas. Following Ismail Haniyeh’s death in Tehran, after he attended the inauguration ceremony for Iran’s new president, Hamas’s armed wing stated this occurrence as “Haniyeh’s killing would take the battle to new dimensions and have major repercussions.” To know more about Haniyeh’s killing follow the link- Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh Killed in Iran, Revenge of Israel… | News India Official

In 1997, Israeli agents attempted a failed assassination attempt on Khaled Meshaal on a street outside his office in Amman, Jordan, and as a result, he became well-known worldwide.

Enraging Jordan’s then-King Hussein over the assassination attempt of a senior member of the Palestinian armed group on Jordanian soil. The king threatened Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he would give the death sentence to the accused assassins and scrap all ties with Israel until an antidote was provided. The Israeli government fulfilled the requirements of the king by providing the antidote and releasing Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, who Tel Aviv later assassinated. The year before Israel attempted to have him eliminated, Meshaal, then 68, rose to the position of political leader of Hamas in exile.

This allowed him to represent the Palestinian Islamist organization in meetings with foreign governments, free from the severe Israeli travel restrictions that other Hamas officials faced. In the absence of success from international diplomacy, Meshaal and the other Hamas leaders are seen by Palestinian supporters as fighters for their country’s freedom from Israeli oppression.

The leadership has also considered senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya, who is located in Qatar and led Hamas negotiators in indirect discussions with Israel about a Gaza ceasefire. This is because Iran and its allies in the region favour him. Meshaal’s prior backing for the 2011 uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, driven by Sunni Muslims, has damaged his relations with Iran. Tehran has robust ties with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Iran backs the whole Axis of Resistance.

To know more about Axis of Resistance- Axis of Resistance United: Hezbollah, Hamas, and their Allies Axis of Resistance United: Hezbollah, Hamas, and their Allies | English, International, Politics News India Official July 11International politics

Since the late 1990s, Meshaal has been a key player at the top of Hamas. However, he has operated primarily from the relative safety of exile while Israel has been arranging the assassinations of other notable Hamas members who are based in the Gaza Strip.

Following the wheelchair-bound Yassin’s death from an airstrike in March 2004, Israel executed his replacement, Abdel-Aziz Al-Rantissi, in Gaza one month later, and Meshaal took over as Hamas’s chief executive. Meshaal, like other Hamas officials, has struggled with the crucial decision of whether to continue fighting or take a more measured approach to Israel in the quest for Palestinian independence (Hamas’ 1988 charter calls for Israel’s destruction).

Born in Silwad, close to Ramallah, Meshaal went to Kuwait when he was young. At the age of 15, he joined the Muslim Brotherhood, which contributed to the establishment of Hamas during the initial uprising. The former teacher Meshaal rose to prominence as a major overseas fundraiser for Hamas, while he got famous after the 1997 assassination attempt on him.

Meshaal left Jordan and relocated to Qatar before moving to Syria in 2001. He oversaw Hamas from Damascus until 2012 when Assad’s crackdown forced him to leave. This hurt his standing inside Hamas because of the importance of his relationships with Tehran and Damascus. He went to Gaza in 2012 for the first time since he was a young boy.


Hamas disapproved of Meshaal’s attempts to make amends with the Palestinian Authority. In 2017, he resigned, and Ismail Haniyeh became over. Meshaal was chosen to lead the office of Hamas in the diaspora in 2021. After Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination, tensions in the Middle East are at an all-time high, regardless of who is leading the charge: Khaled Meshaal or Khalil al-Hayya.

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Mohammad Kaif ZaidiNews Writer

Mohammad Kaif Zaidi is a student of MA Mass Communication and Journalism at Aligarh Muslim University. His background is strongly backed by his previous experience in the vibrant spectrum of mass communication and journalism. He possesses a creative and technical personality with a robust approach towards his work.

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