Palestine Press Agency reports that "well-informed sources" say that Khaled Meshaal, the Damascus-based leader of the political wing of Hamas, traveled to Qatar to pressure Al-Jazeera to tone down its criticism of Syria during the demonstrations there Syria, as well as to pressure the Muslim Brotherhood to take a neutral stance after a sermon by Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi last Friday whee he criticized Syria's President Assad.
According to the sources, the mediation came at the request of the Syrian intelligence service, who assured Meshaal that his mission had succeeded with al-Qaradawi, as well as with Al-Jazeera. Waddah Khanfar, director of Al Jazeera, told Meshaal that he could not ignore the events in Syria but he said he would not interview opponents of the regime on Al Jazeera.
I'm not sure why Qaradawi would tone down his rhetoric against Assad, unless Meshaal brought some serious Syrian threats along with his nice requests.
See? Hamas can be a peacemaker - between brutal Arab regimes, terror supporting Islamists, and vicious media outlets.
