Khaled Mashal - Representing Hamas Internationally

Representing Hamas Internationally

Mashal was a vocal critic of Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, often refusing to follow directives issued by the PA regarding ceasefires with Israel. Mashal was considered a key force behind this policy, along with Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Mashal attended Arafat's funeral, alongside the Saudi royal family, in Cairo on 12 November 2004.

On 29 January 2006, after the surprise Hamas victory in the Palestinian legislative council elections, Mashal stated that Hamas had no plans to disarm. He declared that Hamas was ready to "unify the weapons of Palestinian factions, with Palestinian consensus, and form an army like any independent state... an army that protects our people against aggression". Later, on 13 February 2006, Mashal declared that Hamas would end the armed struggle against Israel if Israel withdrew to its pre-1967 borders and recognize a Palestinian right of return. In a Reuters interview on 31 July 2006, Mashal warned Palestinians everywhere against attempts to separate the Lebanese and Palestinian issues.

He reaffirmed this stance in a 5 March 2008 interview with Al Jazeera English, citing Hamas's signing of the 2005 Cairo Declaration and the National Reconciliation Document, and denied any rejectionist stance. In the 30 March 2008 interview to Sky News, Mashal said, that Hamas will not recognize Israel and supported Hamas suicide bombings saying it is "Palestinian resistance" reaction opposing "Israeli crimes". Former US President and 2002 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jimmy Carter met with Mashal on 21 April 2008 and reached an agreement that Hamas would respect the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip areas seized by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967, provided that such a state is ratified by the Palestinian people in a referendum. Hamas later announced it would offer Israel a ten-year hudna ("truce") if it returned to its 1967 borders and recognized all Palestinian refugees' "right of return." Israel did not respond to the offer. Later, on 27 May 2008, Mashal met the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, in Teheran and stated, "The Palestinian nation will continue its resistance despite all pressures and will not under any circumstances stop its jihad." Hamas stated that it does not feel bound by the "Road Map to Peace" promoted by the Diplomatic Quartet, since in Hamas' view Israel is not honoring its commitments to that 'road map'. Hamas rejects the establishment of a "Palestinian entity with no true sovereignty, whose principal duty is to maintain Israel's security."