[Middle East Times] Nadim Koteich - Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal is a professional deceiver who masters sending mixed messages. Shortly after the guns fell silent in Gaza due to an internationally enforced cease-fire, he said the Gaza battle laid the ground for a serious "strategy of liberation" that would extend beyond Palestine. The strategy of engagement itself has hardened its positions. In February 2007 Saudi King Abdullah oversaw the formation of a Palestinian national unity government. The deal announced from Mecca put Mahmoud Abbas and Meshaal on the same level and $1 billion was promised in aid. Less than four months later Hamas militiamen were throwing Fatah supporters from high rise buildings in Gaza, dragging the bodies of "collaborators" through the streets and stretching the borders of Iran to meet those of Israel while consolidating its stranglehold on the Strip.
2009-02-03 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive