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Official: Israel to Kill Hamas Founder
Israel will hunt and kill the founder of Hamas, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, in retaliation for a deadly attack on Israeli border guards, Israelâs deputy defense minister said in the bluntest warning yet against leaders of the Islamic militant group.Iâd say thatâs pretty blunt. Yassin, a quadriplegic, did not try to hide Friday, making his way to a Gaza City mosque near his home in a wheelchair pushed by an assistant. "We do not fear the threat of death," Yassin, wrapped in a brown blanket, told reporters outside the mosque. "We will not bow to pressure and resistance will continue until the occupation is destroyed." "I will not run, er, roll away." Yassin said he was not personally involved in planning attacks, denying allegations by Israeli security officials that he had approved Wednesdayâs bombing in which a female suicide bomber killed four Israelis at the Erez crossing into Israel. The Israeli officials also said Yassin issued a religious ruling allowing women to become bombers, after Hamas initially recruited only male assailants. Running short of stupid men? Israeli security officials met Wednesday at the Defense Ministry to weigh a response to the latest Hamas bombing. One official said targeted killings of senior Hamas members are likely to resume after a lull of several months. Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Boim said Yassin is a key target. "Sheik Yassin is marked for death, and he should hide himself deep underground where he wonât know the difference between day and night. And we will find him in the tunnels, and we will eliminate him," Boim told Israel Army Radio on Thursday night. That sounds pretty final to me, about time too. However, several security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Yassin was not mentioned specifically in the discussions at the Defense Ministry. Killing the Hamas founder would require approval by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the officials said. OK An Israeli strike against Yassin, who is revered also by Palestinians who do not support Hamas, would likely provoke revenge bombings. An Israeli looking cross-eyed at them provokes revenge Yassin already dodged one Israeli attempt to kill him in September. A warplane dropped a 550-pound bomb on a building where he and other Hamas leaders were meeting, but Yassin escaped with just a small wound to his hand. Pity it didnât get infected. After several other high-profile but ineffective attacks against Palestinian leaders in the summer, Israel scaled back its attacks in concert with a significant drop in Hamas bombings. However, there was never evidence of even an unspoken agreement between the two enemies. Israel insisted that the downturn was attributable to its own security forces, claiming that they arrested as many as 30 potential suicide bombers. Thatâll do it. For their part, Hamas leaders, though often in hiding to avoid Israeli strikes, kept up their militant pronouncements and rebuffed efforts by Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and Egyptian mediators to declare a halt to attacks against Israelis. Yassin reiterated Friday that Hamas would not agree to a cease-fire. Ok, fightâs on then. The suicide bombing on Wednesday put an end to the "so-called quiet period," said the Israeli air force commander, Maj. Gen. Dan Halutz. Halutz denied that the reduction in Israelâs targeted killings was linked to a slowdown in Palestinian attacks. "Since it is a preventive measure, it has nothing to do with the number of casualties that we have," he said Thursday at a meeting of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Air force helicopters launching missiles have been used in most of the targeted killings, which Palestinians denounce as assassination of their leaders. Without giving details, Halutz said the air force and military intelligence have developed "pinpoint" methods to "hit only those who deserve it." However, dozens of bystanders have been killed in air strikes in towns, cities and refugee camps. Thatâs where the targets are hiding. Posted by: Steve 2004-01-16 |
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