September 1997. In an Amman street, five men purporting to be Canadian tourists accost a Palestinian and inject a mysterious chemical into his ear. Within 48 hours it should kill him and leave no trace. The assailants were Mossad agents; their target was Khalid Mishal, head of Hamas's political bureau in Jordan. But, after 48 hours, Khalid was not dead; instead, the Prime Minister of Israel, the President of the United States and the King of Jordan were locked in intense negotiations to save his life. Kill Khalid begins with one of the most bizarre assassination attempts in the last quarter century and follows its participants as they grapple with the unforeseen outcome of this drama. Paul McGeough uses unprecedented interviews with Mishal himself and the key players to tell the definitive, inside story of the rise of Hamas.