Word: mashaal
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...first hours of the Gaza conquest, the group declared an amnesty for Fatah's thousands of fighters, including a dozen senior officials. Even after Abbas kicked Hamas out of his government, the group has been careful not to pick fights with him. The group's political leader, Khaled Mashaal, declared that "Abbas has legitimacy ... he is an elected President, and we will cooperate with him in the national interest." From his exile base in Damascus, Mashaal also said Hamas would abide by past resolutions it has signed with Fatah, including one that "honored" previous Palestinian accords with Israel...
...course, Israelis have no reason to take a figure like Mashaal at his word--and many believe that now is the time to shut out Hamas completely. Israel can punish Hamas by simply choking off supplies going into Gaza, and officials say they have every intention of using this weapon. Sixty percent of Gaza's electricity, 100% of its gas supplies and 40% of its water come from Israel and can easily be shut off. But twisting the screw too far could lead to calamity. John Ging, head of U.N. efforts to provide emergency food supplies to Gaza's residents...
...more reason that the U.S. and its partners, in addition to trying to support the Palestinian government in the West Bank, must find ways to bolster responsible leaders in Gaza too. In the short term, that doesn't have to involve direct talks with Hamas leaders like Mashaal and Haniya, which would violate U.S. antiterrorism laws. But Washington can encourage Arab governments in the region, such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt, to reach out to pragmatic figures like U.S.-educated Ziad Abou Amar, a respected Palestinian academic with good contacts in the West and Gaza. Other go-betweens include...
...Indeed Hamas militants are not happy with the new unity government since it will abide by past accords signed by the Palestinians with the Israelis. Nor is Hamas putting down its arms. Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal warned from Algeria on Tuesday that Hamas has not halted its armed struggle against Israel. He added that Hamas was bracing for another intifadah or uprising. These are not necessarily empty threats: Israeli intelligence officials say that in recent months Hamas and other militant groups smuggled dozens of tons of explosives and weapons through tunnels into Gaza in preparation for a future battle...
...Rice also warned Abbas that the Bush Administration took a dim view of the Palestinian leader's proposed trip to Damascus for a meeting with Hamas's exiled leader Khaled Mashaal in a bid to pacify the near-civil war that has erupted in recent months between militants of Fatah and Hamas. Rice made it clear to Abbas, said one Palestinian source, that "she's worried Hamas will impose its conditions on Abbas...