Know who is Hamas leader Khaled Mashal, whose controversial speech sparked row

A massive row was sparked by the participation of a Hamas leader at an event in Kerala as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stated that the incident displayed “the failure of the Pinarayi Vijayan government” and the event's organisers tried to justify it as “nothing unusual”.

On Saturday, Hamas leader Khaled Mashal took part in the event virtually and even addressed a protest programme organised by an Islamist group in the state against Israel's war against the terrorist outfit.

Justifying Mashal's presence, the organisers said that many Hamas leaders spoke at events in Kerala and India has not banned Hamas.

The programme was organised by the Solidarity Youth Movement, which is Jamaat-Islami's youth wing in Kerala.

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Khaled Mashal was appointed as Hamas Politburo's chairman in 2017 and was also its founding member. For many years, Mashal remained the outfit's key leadership figure.

As per BBC, Khaled Mashal was born in the West Bank and grew up in Jordan and Kuwait. He became the political leader in exile of Hamas in 2004. He never stayed in Gaza and continued to operate from Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Qatar.

As per the foreign ministry of Israel, Khaled Mashal is currently based in Qatar and his net worth is $4 billion.

The videos of Khaled Mashal speaking at the event went viral on social media. "Uproot bulldozer Hindutva and apartheid Zionism" was seen in the footage of the event.

State president of the Solidarity Youth Movement Suhaib CT stated that his participation in the event did not breach any law and was not a crime as Hamas is not an organisation which operates in India.

"He took part in our programme organised to express solidarity with the Palestinian people and to condemn the onslaught by Israel. No need to see anything unusual in that," Suhaib said.

“Their leaders have spoken several times to the people in Kerala at programmes in the past. Hamas is a resistance movement. It is a party that has won several seats in elections there,” he added, news agency PTI reported.

Taking to X, Kerala BJP president K Surendran stated that the virtual address of Khaled Mashel, under the guise of 'Save Palestine', a terrorist organisation, was alarming.

"Hamas leader Khaled Mashel's virtual address at the Solidarity event in Malappuram is alarming. Where's Pinarayi Vijayan's Kerala Police? Under the guise of 'Save Palestine,' they're glorifying Hamas, a terrorist organisation, and its leaders as 'warriors.' This is unacceptable! HMO India," wrote K Surendran.