| Exiled Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, in a communiqué to Arab leaders, expressed willingness to seriously consider the possibility of an over-all calm with Israel, according to a report Friday in the London-based daily Al Hayat, which said that the message was timed to coincide with the Arab League summit scheduled to take place in Syria's capital over the weekend. According to the report, Mashaal defended the firing of Kassam and Grad rockets at Israel, a practice which was criticized by some of the Arab leaders, as well as by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who called them "pointless." |