HAMAS ANNOUNCES SYRIA CONTROLS GAZA & P.A.

'I'm the man,' Meshal says in first comments since crisis broke (Haaretz)
The first speech yesterday by Khaled Meshal, the Damascus-based head of Hamas’ political bureau, since the abduction of Corporal Gilad Shalit was intended mainly to reinforce his leadership position vis-a-vis both Palestinians and Israel. His statements contained little real news. He reiterated the Hamas promise not to hurt Shalit and the position that he would be released only in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

What Meshal did do was to declare that he and not the chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, in Ramallah, or Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza, is the sole spokesman for the Palestinian people in the territories and beyond.

The message was also intended for the ears of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert: Whether you want it or not, I am the only partner you can speak to about the release of prisoners and suspending the Qassam rocket attacks.

At a time when Israel is claiming to have no partner for negotiations, Meshal declared that the road to a future military or diplomatic agreement goes through his Damascus office. (His explicit statements also made him more vulnerable to an Israeli assassination attempt because, in effect, they tied him to the kidnapping.)