KILL KHALID
The Failed Mossad Assassination of Khalid Mishal and the Rise of Hamas
Paul McGeough

In 1997, the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, poisoned the Hamas leader, Khalid Mishal, in broad daylight on the streets of Amman, Jordan. Then little-known, the Palestinian leader slipped into a coma – but not before the Mossad agents’ escape was bungled and Jordanian troops were called in to surround the Israeli embassy. As Mishal’s condition deteriorated under the influence of a mysterious poison, the episode quickly spiralled into a diplomatic crisis. The Middle East feared the worst, but a series of high-stakes negotiations, brokered by President Bill Clinton, led to the Israelis handing over the antidote, thereby saving Mishal and setting the stage for his phenomenal political ascendancy.
 
Revolving around this dramatic incident, Kill Khalid unfolds into a masterpiece of investigative journalism. 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.
 
Kill Khalid is a gripping account of a botched assassination attempt and its enormous, unforeseen consequences for the Middle East and the world. It is also the definitive inside story of Khalid Mishal and the rise of Hamas.
 
Paul McGeough is the former editor of Australia's The 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 he was awarded the Johns Hopkins University-based SAIS Novartis prize for excellence in international journalism. Born in Ireland, he lives in Sydney, Australia.