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.
Review
"More than just a thriller with endnotes. The author’s accumulated contacts over the years have given him rare access to most of the individuals at the centre of the Hamas story." —
The Times Literary Supplement"An incisive insider’s history about one of the world’s most intractable conflicts—and a ripping yarn to boot." —Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker
"Suspense-filled." —Vanity Fair
"McGeough’s work reminds us what real journalism looks like. " —Firedoglake.com
"[A] riveting account of Israel’s botched poisoning of Mishal." —Library Journal
Synopsis
A leading international correspondent reconstructs the pivotal moment in the rise of Hamas'"a page-turning narrative reminiscent of The Day of the Jackal.
Synopsis
“Providing a fly-on-the-wall vantage of the rising diplomatic panic that sent shudders through world capitals” (Toronto Star), Kill Khalid unfolds as a masterpiece of investigative journalism. In 1997, the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad poisoned Hamas leader Khalid Mishal in broad daylight on the streets of Amman, Jordan. As the little-known Palestinian leader slipped into a coma, the Mossad agents’ escape was bungled and the episode quickly spiraled into a diplomatic crisis. A series of high-stakes negotiations followed, which ultimately saved Mishal and set the stage for his phenomenal political ascendancy.
In Kill Khalid, 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. A “sobering reminder of how little has been achieved during sixty years of Israeli efforts in Palestine” (Kirkus), Kill Khalid tracks Hamas’s political fortunes across a decade of suicide bombings, political infighting, and increasing public support, culminating in the battle for Gaza in 2007 and the current-day political stalemate.
About the Author
Paul McGeough is the chief foreign correspondent for and a former editor of Australia’s
Sydney Morning Herald and the author of several books on the Middle East, including
Kill Khalid: The Failed Mossad Assassination of Khalid Mishal and the Rise of Hamas (The New Press), which won the 2010 Premier’s Book of the Year award in Sydney, Australia. He has twice been named Australian Journalist of the Year and was awarded the Johns Hopkins University–based SAIS Novartis Prize for excellence in international journalism and eight Walkley Awards for his reporting on crisis and conflict. He lives in McLean, Virginia.