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| Israel-Palestine |
| Islamic Jihad Leader |
| 2004-05-14 |
Fri May 14, 2004 07:40 PM ET GAZA (Reuters) - Israeli missiles struck the Gaza office and home of Islamic Jihad’s top leader early on Saturday in a failed bid to assassinate him, apparently in retaliation for the killing of 13 Israeli soldiers this week. Witnesses said helicopter gunships fired eight missiles at the targets, wounding at least eight Palestinians, but officials of the militant group said Mohammed al-Hindi had safely fled the area. We know where you live ... The attempt on al-Hindi’s life followed Israel’s assassinations of the two senior Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip in recent weeks. The missile barrage came hours after two Israeli soldiers were killed by Hamas militants in a refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip in the latest in a series of ambushes that has dealt the Middle East’s mightiest army its worst blow in two years. Forgive any sort of dismissive attitude but 13 troop fatalities hardly represents having "dealt the Middle East’s mightiest army its worst blow ..." Now, as to (literally) decapitating strikes against Yassin and Rantissi, those most likely resemble really devastating blows. Hamas has been reduced to offering amnesty (har-dee-effing-har-har) to all Israeli collaborators. Such a collapse of efficacy is far more telling to anyone who understands the real meaning C³. Helicopters first fired three missiles into an Islamic studies center housing al-Hindi’s office and then targeted his home in another part of the densely populated city with five missiles, witnesses said. Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Islamic groups sworn to Israel’s destruction, are the driving force behind a campaign of suicide bombings that have killed hundreds of Israelis during three and a half years of conflict. No mention (of course) about the triple amount of Palestinian casualties. No unbiased reporting here, no-siree Bob. Hamas claimed responsibility for killing six soldiers in a troop carrier on Tuesday during a raid in Gaza City, and Islamic Jihad said it was behind a similar bombing that killed five servicemen on Wednesday. Polls showed deepening support in Israel for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s Gaza pullout plan, now stalled by hard-liners in his own rightist party, as this week’s losses reminded Israelis of the high cost of the hard-to-defend Gaza settlements. The Gaza violence has also raised concern among Israeli military planners that Palestinians have adopted the tactics of Lebanese Hizbollah guerrillas that eventually ended Israel’s occupation of south Lebanon in 2000. Maybe some more air strikes in Lebanon are in order. |
| Posted by:Zenster |
| #1 I know that Israel wants to limit collateral damage to the absolute minimum, but maybe the building needs a JADAM to ensure that they do not have to go back again for a strike. The Paleo terrorists need to know that being around one of their leaders is certain death. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-05-14 10:49:02 PM |