The political leader of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, says that the time has come for the West to lift its boycott on his Palestinian Islamist movement. The group has claimed victory in the confrontation, saying it stopped Israel achieving its aims. “I tell European nations… three years of trying to eliminate Hamas is enough. It is time for you to deal with Hamas, which has gained legitimacy through struggle,” Mr Meshaal said in a speech from the Syrian capital, Damascus. “Now it is time to start to talk to Hamas, which is a legitimate force.”
