Mashaal re-elected to lead Hamas

An accord was signed on Sunday between the Palestinian Authority and the Kingdom of Jordan, giving the Jordanian government responsibility and control over all the Moslem and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem. The agreement states that King Abdullah enjoys the “full right to exert all legal efforts to safeguard and preserve Jerusalem’s holy sites” and a joint statement by the PA and Jordan specifically declared that it was designed to thwart attempts to “Judaize” Jerusalem and its holy sites. The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office had no comment on the report.

According to the 1994 Israel-Jordan peace treaty, “Israel respects the present special role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Muslim holy shrines in Jerusalem. When negotiations on the permanent status will take place, Israel will give high priority to the Jordanian historic role in these shrines.”

In related news, a recent poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, showed that jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti would defeat Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh if presidential elections were to be held among the Palestinians.

Khaled Mashaal, who has led the Islamist terror militia Hamas since 2004, was re-elected to his post in an election held by Hamas’s Shura Council in Cairo on Tuesday.