Khalid Meshal Speaks on Life,
Liberty, and Yasser Arafat
* Interview with
Khalid Meshal, the Chairman of the Political Bureau of Hamas,
conducted in Damascus on December 31, 2001.
Khaled Meshal is
one of the most prominent and capable leaders of Hamas, the
Palestinian resistance movement currently viewed with mixed emotions
throughout the Western world. Born in Ramallah in 1956, Meshal moved
to Kuwait in 1967 where he took up a job as a physics instructor. In
1987 he co-founded the para-military movement of Hamas, aimed at
ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and eight years later,
became chairman of its political bureau. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in
1990, Meshal fled to Amman under the invitation of King Hussein. The
Jordanian King welcomed him heartily, knowing that this would endear
him to his Palestinian subjects and counter-balance the influence
that Yasser Arafat commands in Jordan. On September 25, 1997, Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu dispatched a Mossad hit-team to have him
killed. It was widely believed in Israel that Meshal was responsible
for the numerous attacks that were sending shock waves throughout
Israeli society. Two Mossad agents sprayed a poisonous nerve toxin
into his ear, which should have killed him in 48-hours. Years later,
he remembered the event saying, "I was hit next to my left ear. At
that moment I realized there was an assassination attempt without
resorting to gunshots. I had shivers, and something that felt like
an electric shock running through my body."
An infuriated
Hussein intervened on his behalf, threatening to severe ties with
Israel if an antidote is not immediately found. US President Bill
Clinton personally intervened in the affair, forcing Israel to
comply and "do what it takes to mollify the King." Netanyahu
complied, giving Jordan the antidote and journeying to Amman in
secret to offer an explanation to Hussein. Reportedly, the King
refused to receive him, and ordered his brother Crown Prince Hasan
to do so instead. To compensate for their blunder, the Israelis were
forced to release the spiritual leader of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmad Yassin,
from jail. Ironically, none other than Ariel Sharon brokered the
"appeasement" deal with Jordan. As a result, Yassin was released
from jail, having been in captivity since 1989, and Meshal was
brought to the Arab and international spotlight. Overnight, he
became a household name in Palestine.
To the Israelis,
Hamas is a terrorist organization that must be exterminated,
responsible for 19 out of 36 suicide bombings that left 91 Israelis
dead since the Intifadah broke out in September 2000. Meshal
describes his party saying that the secret of its success is the
willingness of young people to die, whereas, "the Israelis run away
from death." He added, "I can die. But if I die it is an honor. It
is martyrdom." To Yasser Arafat, Hamas is a burden that undermines
his popularity at home and embarrasses him in Western circles. The
leadership of Hamas, today more than ever, is dividing Palestinians
into two camps: those with continuing the resistance and those who
are not. In December 2001, Arafat showed willingness to clamp down
on anti-Israeli activity and arrest Hamas leaders. He called for an
end to armed violence and ordered his troops to conduct a
house-to-house search for Hamas leaders. Knowing the grave
consequences of such a manhunt, police officers resigned from office
in protest en mass, while those who obeyed orders did so with
ski masks over the heads to avoid being recognized by an outraged
public. As inter-Palestinian fighting spread, Hamas issued an
official declaration claiming that it would "halt" suicide attacks
until further notice--a move that boosted Arafat's international
reputation and depicted him as a man bound to his word. The
declaration, Hamas confirmed, was aimed at maintaining national
unity more so than saving Yasser Arafat.
Speaking to the
Washington Report at his Damascus-office, Khaled Meshal said; "
We have agreed to cease our attacks so long as the Palestinian scene
is in shambles. We will not end resistance, however, but only
"freeze" martyr attacks in the territory of 1948 Palestine. This
initiative, however, would depend on the attitude of the enemy. If
Sharon increases his offensive, Hamas reserves the right to
re-launch its attacks and retaliate at any time and in any manner
that it sees fit. We don't have to receive approval from anyone."
For the first time in years, however, the Hamas official seemed to
secretly sympathize with Yasser Arafat, the man who had his party's
best men behind bars. Meshal said, "We realize the pressure exerted
by the US on both the Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority
(PA). American policy is completely bias towards Sharon and that is
a fact. When something threatens Israeli security, the US is quick
to maneuver. However, if Israeli security is maintained for a
substantial period of time, and disturbances start erupting in
Palestine, the US administration will not bulge. Palestinian
security, even if gravely in danger, is beyond the concern of the
Americans." He added, "the demands of self-restraint are no longer
made on the executioner, but rather, on his victim." For example,
Meshal cites the return of US envoy Anthony Zenni to the Palestinian
territories as having been conditioned "on whether Sharon wanted him
back and not whether he was actually needed there or not."
For his part,
Chairman Yasser Arafat, who for long has suffered from Hamas
popularity, often strove to curtail their activities with wide-scale
arrests, mainly in July-September 1997 and in December 2001. During
his Che Gevara freedom fighting days, from 1967 to 1993, Arafat was
a symbol to nearly all-Palestinian factions, including the current
leaders of Hamas. On all accounts, when Hamas was formed in 1987,
its leaders were in-line with his policies. Meshal acknowledged
that Yasser Arafat "cannot be discredited nor can his role in the
Palestinian struggle be forgotten or ignored." In reference to Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon's December 2001 decision to cease all contact
with the PLO leader and declare him irrelevant, Khaled Meshal was
clearly not pleased, believing that these statements were an insult
to someone who for long has been a symbol for Palestine. He did not
seem to mind, however, the idea of a post-Arafat Palestine. "The
Palestinian people are rich in their experiences and
qualifications--they are also very strict in whom they chose as a
leader" he said. "They are capable of producing a leader for every
stage of their struggle, and Yasser Arafat was a leader for a
certain period of Palestinian history." He added, however, that
Arafat's latest declaration, made on the eve of our Eid holiday, was
ultimately wrong. "Surrendering will not solve this crisis and what
Arafat did was announce his surrender. After all, we tried
surrendering in the past and that led us to nothing. We tried giving
into US conditions and demands, and that also, led us to nothing. He
was asking us to give-up our right of self-defense and declaring
that the Intifadah is dead." By doing so, the PLO Chairman was in
fact, he pointed out, "leaving all the initiatives, for both war and
peace, in the hands of Sharon."
Meshal says that
what Israel wants today is for a Palestinian civil war to break out.
They want to corner Arafat into facing either an all out war with
Israel, or an internal war with his own people. "As for an all-out
war with Israel, it is already there," he says, "but the
Palestinians will not fight amongst themselves so long as their
cause with Israel is still hanging." He adds that the Bush
administration must understand that the Palestinian people have no
hopes in receiving salvation from the USA. They also have no hope in
being saved by the Europeans. "Rather, they have hope in God and the
Intifadah." Even the Arabs are no longer seen as a source of
salvation for the Palestinians. "Arabs whose responsiveness the
Palestinian struggle was particularly weak after September 11.
Following the attacks on America, the Arabs became preoccupied
amongst themselves and went into frenzy due to threats and pressure
from the USA. This backfired on the degree of their seriousness
towards of the Palestinian cause."
Of all the Arab
states, Meshal seemed most pleased with the support he and his
organization are receiving from Syria. Damascus will not change its
policies towards Hamas, he points out, "because it believes in our
resistance and likewise, we will not change our policy towards Syria
even if its leadership resumes peace talks with Israel. It is the
natural right of Syria to regain its occupied territory in any way
that they see fit, just like it is ours." Meshal adds that all US
and Israeli threats to attack Syria were aimed at pressuring
Damascus to relinquish its alliance with Hamas. It was nothing but a
bluff, he adds. "If we look back," Meshal points out, "we will see
that Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hizbullah were not included on the
first two US terrorist lists. They only appeared on the third list
under Sharon's backing with the aim of pressuring Syria."
Khalid Meshal
makes a point to dislocate his group from the world's number one
"wanted" man by saying, "In Hamas, we are in no way connected to
Osama Bin Laden." He adds, "we suffered a lot under occupation and
therefore, we are opposed to the targeting of civilians in America."
What took place on September 11, however, does not justify giving
America a free hand to do as it pleases in the world community.
"Trying to mend a mistake with another big mistake is in no manner a
logical solution" Meshal points out. He adds, "This is an unjust
world I admit, where everyone is forced to weep for the pain and
suffering of America--the Big Lady. Nobody cares for the small
ladies, however, and for how many of them die or suffer. The US is
strong and military superior and we acknowledge that, but it is not
secure. It will remain so as long as its policies are bias towards
the suppressors and not towards the suppressed." He points out that
if it were not for Israel, Hamas would have no conflict with the
USA. Hamas carries out a national resistance within Palestinian
territories he reminded,
"and fights nobody but the Zionist occupation." He adds, "We do not
carry out activities outside of the occupied territories and have
never targeted anyone but Israel. Never in our career did we carry
out any activity against the United States." Wrapping up, the
Palestinian leader said, "resistance is legitimate according to
international standards. It is everyone's right to fight when
occupied by a foreign force. The French fought the Nazis who
occupied their land and received US backing for their resistance.
The Americans themselves fought a revolution to gain their
independence from the British monarchy--why cannot we have the same
honor that they enjoyed?"
Damascus
December 31, 2001