Epstein Secrets

e of a possible Israeli or American attack on its nuclear facilities. How the crisis in Hamas develops depends on several factors. A close ally of Meshaal, Ahmed Youssef, has implied that Qatar promised strong financial backing in return for the agreement. If that is delivered, especially if it is aug

Hamas has exploded into a bitter public feud. It was prompted an agreement reached last week in Qatar between the head of Hamas' political bureau, Khaled Meshaal, and the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas. According to the deal, Abbas would take on the additional role of prime minister until el

prisings, the divergence of interests between Hamas' leadership in Gaza and its leadership abroad has been steadily intensifying. External leaders, Meshaal in particular, have come under increasing pressure to adapt to regional transformations, particularly the growing sectarian split in the Middle Ea

be crucial. Its leaders, Ahmed Jabari and Marwan Issa, have traditionally deferred to the leadership of the political bureau, and reportedly urged Meshaal not to step down as its chief. But they have also expressed dismay at some of Meshaal's recent comments regarding the tactical value of nonviolent

erent policy or intervention. This is something they've been opposed to, and it was not a Cold War phenomenon. Ironically, interventionism was for the Soviet Union something they did in their part of the world [East Berlin, 1953, Hungary 1956, Czechoslovakia, 1968] and they had no compunction at interventioni

res that lead his movements to be well-tracked and detailed. Hence, he went only after receiving his Iranian allies' blessings. In Doha, Shalah and Meshaal discussed the latter's forthcoming trip to Tehran, a long-anticipated visit delayed by the wait for Tehran to extend an invitation. The hurdle in p

, Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Abdullah Shalah, a close ally of Tehran, visited the Qatari capital of Doha to meet his ally and comrade Khaled Meshaal, the leader of Hamas, according to sources close to Shalah. It is rare that someone like Shalah visits Doha, given the tight security measures tha

ally in the region, Iran. Historically, first under the tsars and then under the Soviets, Tehran feared Russian expansionism. With the break-up of the Soviet Union, however, relations improved greatly, as Russian and Iranian interests began to substantially converge—particularly when it came to limiting Americ

blic fracture since its founding. The Gaza faction sees little reason to make concessions and is particularly skeptical about Hamas Politburo chief Khaled Meshaal's sudden embrace of Palestinian reconciliation with the West Bank-based rival Fatah party, fearing the move will end the group's five-year run as t

s secretive elections for its Shura Council leadership body and appoints a new Politburo chief. Some EFTA00671799 close to the group predict that Meshaal, despite his recent announcement that he would not seek reelection, will win another four-year term and be given a mandate to implement a unity gov

ing democracy; only transparent, efficient, honest government. They want a leader who can make the sclerotic system function better. Yet, much like the Soviet Union in its final years when power passed from one old man to another—Brezhnev to Andropov to Chernenko—in quick succession, the Saudi royal family con