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| Middle East | |||
| Israel will target other Hamas leaders | |||
| 2004-03-23 | |||
| While Europe wobbles, Israel stands firm Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Tuesday that other Hamas leaders would be targeted now that Israel has assassinated Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. "If we will continue, in a determined way, with our strikes against Hamas and other terror groups, with the means I outlined, including action against those leaders, we will bring more security to Israeli citizens," he said.
Excellent news! "There is no immunity to anyone. And that means anyone to the last person," he said. Hanegbi did not give any names, but said the list of militant leaders marked for death included "those who appear on television," a veiled reference to senior Hamas officials Abdel Aziz Rantissi and Mahmoud al-Zahar. IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon said Tuesday that Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s response to the assassination showed that "they understand that their turn is drawing near." Cause meet effect!
Thats my opinion too. There is nothing to indicate that Hamas has any additional capability they have not used to date. The assassination of the Hamas leader has dealt a severe blow to the militant organization and will help prevent the founding of "Hamas-land" in Gaza, Yaalon said Tuesday. These guys must be reading RB and realizing the power of pithy monikers. "Even if in the short term, the assassination increases the motivation to carry out terror attacks, in the long run, the assassination is likely to calm the situation in the Gaza Strip and encourage moderate forces to prevent the founding of ’Hamas-land’ in the Strip," he said. "Yassin was neither, and I should like to stress it, was neither a political nor a religious leader," said Yaalon. HaHa! You mean he is not a ’spiritual leader’ after all! Surprise meter just did nothing. Got to get one of those new digital models. "Ahmed Yassin was a terrorist who headed a terrorist organization which operates against the State of Israel and its citizens. Yassin was directly responsible for multiple terror attacks, resulting in the deaths of both Israeli and foreign civilians and security personnel." < Hezbollah militants abandoned their posts overnight for fear of an Israeli reprisal, Army Radio reported Tuesday. The IDF Northern Command decided Tuesday that it would respond if Hezbollah continues to shell the northern border, Israel Radio reported. The army says it expects Lebanon to restrain Hezbollah, as it did during the war in Iraq and in Operation Defensive Shield in the West Bank in 2001, when it set up barriers in the south of the country to prevent militants from approaching the border fence. Hamas, Hezbollah and Arafat’s Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade have all vowed revenge for the assassination. The Hamas military wing, Iz a Din al-Kassam, announced it would avenge the killing both in Israel and overseas. "Ariel Sharon gave the order to kill hundreds of Zionists on every street, in every city and everywhere in the occupied lands," it said in a statement. If Israel ever gets into ’dire revenge’ there will be so many bodies on the streets of Gaza you will not be able to count them. | |||
| Posted by:phil_b |
| #8 first off, BH and Steve S. - LOL! I can't even begin to imagine what must be going on behind the scenes that finally convinced Ariel Sharon, Shaul Mofaz, and Moshe Yaalon to finally treat these terrorists the only real way to treat terrorists, but I am so grateful that they did. I can't tell you how many people have said or written since yesterday, "Oh... I feel so bad for the Israelis. Now they really going to be coming under attack..." i wanted to scream, "You idiots, they've been under perpetual attack since 2001 - really since 1948! " The only time there was relative peace in the region was the aftermaths of the times when Israel finally treated their oppressors with hard, irresistable force." Remember, these suicide bombings began only after the Oslo accords were signed (aka- "the Oslo War"). Why? Because the bloodthirsty cultures surrounding Israel on all sides tasted blood. For the first time they saw that, if Israel was actually willing to trade " land for peace", then the land must mean more to the Arabs than the Israelis, and that was all they needed. The PA never adhered, nor intended to, the dictates of the Oslo toilet paper, except where their admittedly fantastic PR machine needed to for the world's benefit. I have a theory, and if any of you folks could pitch in your comments, I'd be grateful, as to why Israel is suddenly taking such strong action after years of just "taking it". I wonder if it's not in response to Al quaeda's victory for terrorism in Spain. after 9/11, the U.S. and most of the world, showed that "this is how we'll treat terrorists." But with the horror of Spain's recent attacks, at least one major western nation, one that was involved in the toppling of Saddam Hussein, showed that terrorism really can work and achieve it's desired goals. This would be a very inspiring message to any terrorist group in Israel, especially one like Hamas, who up until now, has been treated relatively speaking, with kid gloves. My feeling is that Israel may have decided to say, " we've got to start making a strong statement of, 'Don't even THINK of trying that here' before these groups who already too bold and brazen start getting even more agressive. Not every country is Spain, and your results may vary" Whatever went on behind this decision, I'm grateful. That this Yassin will become a martyr, an idea that may spur many on to further blood frenzy is almost certain, but that's all he can do. He can't issue one more command, or hatch one more idea, that will result in the deaths of Israelis. Thank G-d! |
| Posted by: Dripping sarcasm 2004-3-23 3:58:23 PM |
| #7 Defense chiefs have decided to try to kill the entire Hamas leadership, security sources said Tuesday, a day after Israel assassinated the sheikh. Yes! Yes! YES!!!! |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-3-23 2:01:17 PM |
| #6 " spiritual leader... at least since yesterday" Well, it *is* the Religion of Pieces (tm). |
| Posted by: SteveS 2004-3-23 1:12:28 PM |
| #5 Leave Arafat alone in his hole. He is isolated and ineffectual. The Last thing that the place needs is a new abu Explodo to lead the idiots to the Heavenly Whorehouse. |
| Posted by: ed 2004-3-23 1:10:31 PM |
| #4 Oh, I'd say he's a spiritual leader... at least since yesterday. ;) |
| Posted by: BH 2004-3-23 12:06:39 PM |
| #3 i don't understand why they call Yassin a "spiritual leader. I thought that spiritual leaders resorted to neogtiation not violence............ |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2004-3-23 10:21:26 AM |
| #2 sounds like a good plan too me. Should have done this years ago though, and hopefuly they aill go ahead and knock arafat off while they are at it. |
| Posted by: smokeysinse 2004-3-23 10:19:06 AM |
| #1 DEBKA sez that their Palestinian sources report Arafat’s feeling lonely. Every Arab ruler he called Monday gave him brush-off: Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, Egypt’s Mubarak, Yemen’s Salah, Jordan’s Abdullah and Tunisian Bin Ali. All refused to come to telephone. Must know he's a dead man talking. |
| Posted by: Steve 2004-3-23 9:27:44 AM |