Synopses & Reviews
It was] all very James Bond. One country needs the antidote held by another, to treat an illness it doesn't understand. The clock's ticking...so the king calls the White House.-Robert Malley, former senior Clinton administration adviser Little public notice was taken of a 1997 attempt on the life of the Hamas leader Khalid Mishal by Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency-even though the audacious hit took place in broad daylight in the streets of Amman, and even though the bungled poisoning immediately set into motion a flurry of international diplomacy, culminating in the direct intervention of then-U.S. President Bill Clinton. A series of tense, high-level negotiations saved Mishal's life, as the Israelis reluctantly handed over the antidote. But Hamas was saved as well. With his new lease on life, Khalid Mishal became-and remains-the architect of the Hamas organization's phenomenal ascendancy in the intervening decade. Mishal orchestrated the deadly bombings on targets in Israel and, from his bunker in exile in the Syrian capital of Damascus, continues to pull in donations and support from the Islamic world while directing Hamas's vital social welfare programs. In a headlong narrative-with high-speed car chases, negotiated prisoner exchanges, and an international scandal that threatened to destabilize the entire region-acclaimed reporter Paul McGeough uses unprecedented, extensive interviews with Khalid Mishal himself and the key players in Amman, Jerusalem, and Washington to tell the definitive, inside story of the rise of Hamas.
Synopsis
In 1997, the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad poisoned Hamas leader Khalid Mishal in broad daylight on the streets of Amman, Jordan. Kill Khalid is the page-turning history of this attempted assassination. Acclaimed reporter Paul McGeough reconstructs the history of Hamas through exclusive interviews with key players across the Middle East and in Washington, including unprecedented access to Mishal himself, who remains to this day one of the most powerful and enigmatic figures in the region.
About the Author
Paul McGeough is the chief correspondent and a former editor of Australias Sydney Morning Herald and the author of three books on the Middle East. He has twice been named Australian Journalist of the Year and in 2002 was awarded the Johns Hopkins Universitybased SAIS Novartis prize for excellence in international journalism. He lives in Sydney, Australia.