The head of Hamas’ political bureau, Khaled Meshaal, says that a third intifada is essential and that efforts should be made to help it succeed. He also emphasized that all Palestinian parties can benefit from the intifada and should participate in it rather than politicize it.
The comments were made in a Skype interview organised by the Press House in Gaza that was focused on the national unity in Palestine.
He said in the interview that there are four main Palestinian responsibilities during the intifada: foiling attempts to divide al-Aqsa Mosque, sustaining the political will to achieve national goals, agreeing on a joint strategy to pressure Israel and forming a field command to create political opportunities and invest in them. He also called for the temporary leadership framework of the PLO to convene.
He also said that the Palestinians are weakened by division, weak choices made by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the region’s preoccupation with heated issues and the US’ withdrawal from the Palestinian issue to focus on other international events.
Meshaal sent out reassuring messages to the PA, saying the intifada is against Israel and does not serve the interest of one Palestinian party over another.
Khaled Meshaal is one of the leaders of the Islamic Palestinian organisation Hamas since the Israeli assassination of Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi in 2004.
After the founding of Hamas in 1987, Mashal came to lead the Kuwaiti branch of the organisation. Since the expulsion of the Hamas leadership from Jordan in August 1999, Mashal lived in Qatar before moving to the Syrian capital of Damascus in 2001. He returned to Qatar in 2012 as a result of the Syrian civil war.
