By The Lede Staff
Former head of Palestinian political and military organisation Hamas, Khaled Mashal, addressed an event at Malappuram in Kerala through a recorded video on October 27.
Hamas is a Sunni Islamist organisation, which India has recently condemned for its terror activities in gunning down close to 600 civilians in Israel on October 7. Over 1400 were killed, over 5000 wounded and about 230 civilians were abducted by Hamas.
Following this, Israel declared war on Hamas and continuous shelling has taken place in the Gaza Strip.
Khaled Mashal, in his recorded message played to a packed audience at the Youth Defence Conference organised by Solidarity Malappuram against Zionist-Hindutva Racism, said –
“In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful Praise be to God, and may blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of God, our Master Muhammad, and upon his family and all his companions God is great, great, thank God very much, and glory be to God tomorrow and in the evening.
Hello Brothers and Sisters, dear active youth from all over India and Kerala, Assalamu Alaikum. Have a blessed Friday. Heartfelt thanks for your strong support, actions and all efforts.
Here we are after three weeks of ongoing Zionist atrocities on Gaza. Why are they taking revenge on Gaza? Because Gaza is fighting for Aqsa.
Why were the fighters of the Qassam Brigades attacking Gaza with the blessings of Allah on the 7th of October when they stormed into occupied Palestine? Why did they stand up for Aqsa in the name of Toofan al-Aqsa on October 7?
Because al-Aqsa was in the midst of danger. Since 1967, Masjid al-Aqsa has been on the verge of collapse. Since the establishment of the regime under the shadow of Netanyahu, including far-right parties, they have been using it as a great opportunity to destroy Aqsa. Migration has increased, violence has increased and seen what they have done to women who sat in I’tikaf last Ramadan.
They had started preparations to demolish the Aqsa Masjid and build the temple they claim.
Resistance was present in the West Bank. Last year there was strong resistance there. But that was not enough to stop the brazen attempt to destroy Aqsa.
Aqsa is our pride, our best place, our first Qiblah, the place where our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) started his Mi’raj journey to the celestial world. Your beloved brothers in Gaza have been fighting for Aqsa since last October 7. They called it Toofan al-Aqsa.
After three weeks of military defeat, today Israel is taking revenge on our residents. Houses are being demolished. Beloved, they have destroyed more than half of Gaza today. They are destroying churches, temples, universities and even UN institutions. What is meant by this attack is the evacuation of Gaza, and they are retaliating against it. Because the fighters in Gaza have defeated them militarily.
These are just cowardly enemies who take revenge on innocent babies for their military defeat. Today about 8000 people are martyrs, half of them are children.
So I want to say, this strong fight will continue. America and some other western countries have formed alliances to strengthen this demonic power. They support their atrocities and give them time to kill people and commit atrocities at will before entering by land.
However the resistance continues strong, Alhamdulillah! The brothers in the Qassam army are at best optimistic that their opponents will be defeated and they will retreat in fear. Insha Allah!
But my brothers and sisters, my youth and my children, Al Aqsa is the capital of the world today. Today’s focus is on Gaza fighting to defend Aqsa. The attention of the world is on your brothers and sisters in Palestine who are strongly resisting the British occupation in the past and the Zionist occupation today. They are the real centre of attention.
Our society wants to live free from invasion, immigration and violence. May Allah be with Aqsa, may Allah be with Gaza, and may Allah strengthen all of your support for the Palestinian resistance!
There should be many protests in our society. First of all we should all take to the streets and raise waves of protest in different nations, especially against American imperialism. They are complicit in the Zionist atrocities on our society. Second, your brothers in Gaza need immediate humanitarian and financial support. Thirdly, you are constantly aware of the ongoing atrocities, masha Allah.
We must be ready to devote all our labour and efforts to the land of Palestine. These activities are to restore the glory of Masjid al-Aqsa with the blessings of Allah. May Allah bless you all and we shall make all possible preparations. My heartiest thanks to all the young men and women, religious and political movements and scholars who have supported us in this way!
May Allah be with you, all of you should pray for us, together we will surely win, together we will defeat the Zionists, together we will regain the glory of Masjid al-Aqsa, together we will stand together for Gaza, fighting for al-Aqsa.
Allah will be with the believers and the fighters.
“And the unbelievers are friends with each other. If you do not implement this (these instructions), there will be trouble and great destruction in the land.”
When we see our adversaries uniting against us, we should also unite. If the Islamic community does not stand together in the face of the fight against them, there will be great trials.
Our commitment to the Islamic community is strong and we will succeed. May Allah bless you all.”
Who Is Khaled Mashal
Khaled Mashal is one of the founding members of Hamas. Hamas was formed in 1987 when the first Palestinian Intifada or uprising started. Hamas was formed from the remnants of the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Mashal was born in the West Bank occupied by Jordan, although he was forced to live in other parts of the Arab world in exile. After Hamas was founded, he became the leader of the Kuwaiti branch.
By 1992, Mashal was the chairman and a founding member of Hamas’ politburo. After the assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi in 2004, Mashal was recognised as the head of Hamas. It was under Mashal’s guidance that Hamas won a majority of the seats in the 2006 election in the Gaza Strip. He resigned from the politburo in 2017 when his term ended.
A very interesting story about Khaled Mashal is his near-assassination by the Israeli counter-terrorism squad Mossad.
On September 25, 1997, Mossad agents managed to shoot a poison into Mashal’s ear as he walked into his office in Amman, Jordan. He was rushed to a hospital later in the day when he began vomiting.
Fearing widespread protests if Mashal died, King Hussein of Jordan demanded that the then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu provide the antidote for the poison. Netanyahu refused but when US President Bill Clinton pressurised him, he finally agreed.
The head of Mossad was sent with the antidote to Jordan where Mashal was lying in a coma. The antidote was administered and Mashal lived.
Subsequently Mashal was expelled from both Jordan as well as Syria as these nations turned against Hamas. He currently lives in Qatar along with other leaders of Hamas.