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Tens of thousands of people have gathered to attend a rally in the Gaza Strip to mark the 25th anniversary of the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal gave a fiery speech during his first ever visit to the territory. He said he would never recognise Israel, and insisted Palestinians would never cede any part of their land. Hamas removed Fatah from Gaza by force in 2007 after winning elections there. Fatah governs parts of the West Bank. 'Made in Gaza' The BBC's Yolande Knell in Gaza City says the event is intended to send a message...

Exclusive: Albert Thompson sees Turkey PM becoming most powerful man in region The Turkish AK Party is on the verge of altering the balance of power in the Middle East. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan could soon be recognized as the most powerful man in the region. Erdogan is campaigning to merge the offices of Turkey’s president and prime minister. Currently, the Turkish presidency is a ceremonial role with some judicial appointments, but the president also has the power to call for referenda, appoint the chief of the Turkish military and to mobilize the Turkish military. However, the chief of...

U.S. media is reporting on the visit to Jordan by Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal, accompanied by former U.S. Muslim Brotherhood leader Abu Marzook. According to an AP report: Associated Press AMMAN, Jordan (AP) – A high-profile visit to Jordan by the leader of Hamas has revived contacts with the Palestinian militant group, but Jordan will not lift a ban on its activities there, a senior Jordanian official said Sunday. Khaled Mashaal’s visit was part of Jordan’s efforts to engage with previously shunned Islamists, who have been gaining ground across the region in Arab Spring uprisings. ”It will only break...

In a televised speech on Saturday, Khaled Meshaal, the Hamas leader, said Israel's offensive on Gaza, had failed because Hamas was still firing rockets at Israel. "You have finished off the last chance and breath for settlement and negotiations," Meshaal said. "Has it stopped the rockets?" he asked of Israel's declared aim in launching the offensive. Meshaal said that Israel was covering up the true nature of its losses by saying that troops had been killed by friendly fire and accidents. Meshaal said that any international monitoring force in the Gaza strip would be treated as "occupation" force.

JERUSALEM – The Hamas terrorist organization has confirmed to WND plans are in the works for former President Jimmy Carter to meet the chief of Hamas on a trip this month to Syria. Sources in the Gaza Strip office of Ismail Haniyeh, the deposed prime minister of the Hamas-led Palestinian government, confirmed Hamas is in talks with Carter's representatives about setting up a meeting during his trip, scheduled for later this month. The Hamas sources said no concrete date has been set but that Carter has expressed interest in meeting Hamas chieftain Khaled Meshaal, who resides in Syria. In a...

Hamas Chief Promises War Even if PA State is Established 13:27 Dec 05, '06 / 14 Kislev 5767by Hillel Fendel Khaled Meshaal, the Damascus-based leader of the Hamas terrorist organization, makes no bones: Either Israel leaves all of Judea, Samaria and Gaza and agrees to the 'right of return' - or war. Meshaal is officially the head of the diplomatic desk of Hamas, but is recognized as the #1 man in the terrorist organization. The target of a failed Israeli assassination attempt a decade ago, Meshaal told a Lebanese newspaper this week that Hamas will not hesitate to resume...

Just last Friday, Iranian President Ahmadinejad warned that Israel's return to Gaza could lead to an "explosion" in the Islamic world that would target Israel and its supporters in the West. "They should not let things reach a point where an explosion occurs in the Islamic world," ... "If an explosion occurs, then it won't be limited to geographical boundaries. It will also burn all those who created [Israel] over the past 60 years," he said, implicitly referring to America and other Western nations who support Israel. Years from now, the kidnapping of Corporal Gilad Shalit will be regarded like...

The political leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas has said the group will increase attacks on Israel if it attacks Iran. Khaled Meshaal told reporters in Tehran that his group would join a united front against the enemies of Islam. Mr Meshaal also praised Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his "courageous" remarks about Israel. The president has been strongly criticised for saying on Wednesday that the Nazi Holocaust was "a myth". Mr Ahmadinejad also called for Europe or North America to host a Jewish state, not the Middle East. The Hamas chief was visiting Tehran for talks with Iran's...

"The more destruction I see, the stronger I get," announced Yasser Arafat after viewing the effects of the just-ended Israeli incursion into Ramallah. In the same defiant spirit, a Hamas leader, Khaled Meshaal, insisted that the damage wrought by Israeli troops in Jenin constituted "a Palestinian victory that lifted the morale of our people." Palestinian spokesmen in the United States repeat this same point. Hussein Ibish of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee contends that recent setbacks "will only increase, not break, the will of the Palestinians to resist Israeli rule." Journalists too have picked up this theme and made it a...