Hamas Leader killed / World condemns Israel (MERGED)

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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Report: Hamas leader Yassin killed in IAF strike in Gaza City

By The Associated Press

GAZA CITY - Israel Airforce helicopters fired missiles at Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin’s car as it left his house for a mosque at daybreak Monday, residents said, and mosque loudspeakers said he was killed.

Ambulances raced to the scene, and mosques in the area amplified the sound of Quranic verses, as announcements were made calling Yassin a “martyr,” meaning he had been killed. Gunfire was heard in the Sabra neighborhood where Yassin lives

Israel has been carrying out an offensive in the Gaza Strip against Hamas militants since a double suicide bombing attack in the port of Ashdod on March 14. The attack, which killed 10 Israelis, was carried out by two Palestinians who infiltrated into Israel from Gaza.

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ARE YOU KIDDING ME??????

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ok it’s true.

Hamas chief killed in air strike
Israel had warned it would target Yassin
Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin has been killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza, Hamas officials have said.

Israeli helicopter gunships hit Sheikh Yassin’s car as he left for a mosque at daybreak, local residents said.

Mosques reportedly announced his death over loudspeakers and urged people to take to the streets in protest.

Israel had warned it would target the Hamas chief after the militant group killed scores of Israelis in suicide bombings over the past three years.

Ambulances and fire engines raced to the scene of the attack.

Yussef Haddad, 35, a taxi driver, said he saw the missiles hit and kill Yassin and the bodyguards.

“Their bodies were shattered,” he was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.

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OH HO

Hamas Founder Dies in Israeli Airstrike

20 minutes ago

By IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writer

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israeli helicopters fired missiles at Hamas leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin as he left a mosque near his house at daybreak Monday, residents said, and witnesses said he was killed.

AP Photo

AP Photo
Slideshow: Mideast Conflict

Witnesses said Israeli helicopters fired three missiles at Yassin and two bodyguards as they left the mosque, killing them instantly. Hamas officials confirmed that he had been killed.

A total of four people were killed and 12 were wounded in the attack, witnesses said.

Yussef Haddad, 35, a taxi driver, said he saw the missiles hit Yassin and the bodyguards.

“Their bodies were shattered,” he said.

Yassin, a quadriplegic, was by far the most senior Palestinian militant killed in more than three years of Israeli-Palestinian fighting. Thousands of angry Palestinians gathered minutes after the attack, calling for revenge against Israel.

In announcing Yassin’s death, Hamas said, “(Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon has opened the gates of hell and nothing will stop us from cutting off his head.”

Ambulances and fire trucks raced to the scene with sirens wailing, and rescue workers were gathering up the shattered bodies.

Yassin founded Hamas in 1987. He was held in Israeli prisons for several years before being released in 1994.

In September 2002, Yassin escaped an Israeli missile strike on a Gaza building with a hand injury.

Yassin lived in a modest house in the rundown Sabra neighborhood in Gaza City. Israel blamed him for inspiring Hamas bombers and attackers who killed hundreds of Israelis.

ISRAEL IS IN TROUBLE :devil:

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I know, he's the one who made suicide hip. A real loss for the world.

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by underthedome: *
I know, he's the one who made suicide hip. A real loss for the world.
[/QUOTE]

I dont' know why I am so surprised by this.

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Haha, Hamas are the ones in trouble, they wanted a war and they’ve got it.

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israel wanted a war by their occupation :snooty:

Now they wil pay very dearly I am sure.

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Hamas was never interested in peace.

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by underthedome: *
Hamas was never interested in peace.
[/QUOTE]

Neither was Israel.

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They have made peace with Jordan and Egypt.

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by underthedome: *
They have made peace with Jordan and Egypt.
[/QUOTE]

Those geniunely interested in peace dont' grab land and humilate(sp?) people.

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The PA in keeping hundreds of millions of dollars from going to building up the refugee camps is quite humiliating isn't it?

Hamas had no interest in peace with Israel while Israel has shown it is willing to give up land in order to make peace. Land was grabbed by Israel after they won the wars thrown at it.

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Israel always threatened this, but noone ever really thought Israel would go ahead with murdering Sheikh Yassin, just like they have never taken any steps against Arafat. Main reason was, that Sheikh Yassin was the spiritual, not the military leader of Hamas.
This move would not be seen favorably by most of the world, since Sheikh YAsin was one whom the Hamas would listen to, and he was perhaps the only one who could bring them to the peace table. NOw, the group may abandon its non military side altogether, and ISrael cant exactly say that they will be better off without him. Because by killing civilians on the other side, you really justify the killings of your own civilians.
The PA will become weaker, might even fall, since the general support for Hamas and freedom fighters will increase manyfold no doubt.

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Those who think that the situation in Palestine and Israel will not get a lot worse now, are just kiddin themselves. It may get better eventually, but in the short-term it will be bloody and messy. With this murder, things will be a lot more personal. I can understand why Israel is frustrated with Hamaas, but I am not sure if killing the quadriplegic Yassin was the best (or the last) course of action available to Sharon, at this point.

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Yassin rejected a two state solution, how having him around makes Israel any safer doesn't really add up. Israel has plans to leave Gaza and leaving Hamas, an organization that rejects the existence of Israel behind wouldn't make any sense. This attack on Yassin isn't merely a big strike but the beginning of a multi-operation against Hamas’s infrastructure and leadership.

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Inna-Lillahi-Wa-Inna-Ilahi-Rajioun
My thoughts are with the Palestinians :flower1:

Cowards … afraid of this old blind man … hope Sharon gets the same fate … more killing of the israelis for sure and more surprises ahead

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by underthedome: *
Yassin rejected a two state solution, how having him around makes Israel any safer doesn't really add up. Israel has plans to leave Gaza and leaving Hamas, an organization that rejects the existence of Israel behind wouldn't make any sense. This attack on Yassin isn't merely a big strike but the beginning of a multi-operation against Hamas’s infrastructure and leadership.
[/QUOTE]

didnt hamas actually offer a peace treaty ?

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UK condemns killing of Hamas chief - unlawful, unjust and unacceptable

Unprecedented international condemnation of Israel, in an attack which proves that Israel is not at all interested in peace.

Straw condemns Hamas chief death

UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has condemned the Israeli missile attack on Ahmed Yassin as “unlawful”. Mr Straw said the killing of the spiritual head of the Palestinian militant group Hamas was “unjust” and “unacceptable”. The attack which came as the leader returned from a mosque in Gaza, also killed eight others and wounded many. Speaking at an EU meeting on terror, Mr Straw said he did not see the benefits of killing an old man in a wheelchair.

No carte blanche

The foreign secretary, who is in Brussels for EU talks on counter-terrorism, called for restraint on both sides. “All of us understand Israel’s need to defend itself against terrorism which affects it, within international law.” But he said this did not entitle Israel to carry out “this kind of unlawful killing, which we all condemn”. ***“It is unacceptable, unjust and very unlikely to achieve [Israel’s] objectives,” ***he said. Shadow foreign secretary Michael Ancram said the killing of Ahmed Yassin represented a “regrettable escalation” of violence in the Middle East. “I quite accept the right of countries to protect their citizens and this man may well have been the instigator of many terrorist acts against Israel, but I think the sadness of this is … there is no military solution to this,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “The only resolution of the problem in the Middle East is going to be through talks and that solution is further away now than ever.”

Confidence building

Mr Ancram said everyone knew the answer to the Middle East situation was a “secure” Israel and a “viable” Palestinian state alongside it on the West Bank. Once the peace process resumed, America, the UK and other parts of Europe, “have a role in encouraging that dialogue forwad”, he said. "But I don’t believe you can fight your way to the [negotiating] table, that you can actually bomb, shoot or kill your way to the table. “I think it has to be done by building confidence and restoring confidence and I’m afraid what has happened today is the antithesis of this,” Mr Ancram added.

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More world condemnation of the Israeli killing of the Hamas chief…

World’s dismay at Yassin killing

The killing of Sheikh Yassin has drawn widespread condemnation in the Arab world and Europe, while the US State Department has appealed for calm.

**Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak described it as cowardly and King Abdullah of Jordan called it a crime. In Iran, President Rafsanjani said the killing would trigger an even bigger struggle against Israel and the US. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw described the assassination as “unacceptable” and “unjustified”. Mr Straw said he did not think Israel would benefit from an attack on an old man in a wheelchair. French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said such acts could only “feed the spiral of violence”. And the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, said the killing was “very, very bad news” for the Middle East peace process. **

Restraint urged

The US was among the first countries to issue an official reaction in the wake of the killing of Sheikh Yassin by Israeli forces. State Department spokesman Lou Fintor said: “The United States urges all sides to remain calm and exercise restraint.” An Australian foreign ministry spokesman also urged efforts to “try and prevent any further decline into violence”. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he had cancelled a visit by Egyptian members of parliament to Jerusalem in protest at the assassination. The delegation was to have taken part in celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of the Camp David peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. Mr Mubarak described the killing as “regrettable and cowardly”. When asked about its possible impact on the Middle East peace process, he said: “What peace process?”

Roadmap fears

Other leading figures in the Arab world have also criticised the killing of Sheikh Yassin. Iraq’s US-appointed Governing Council said it could escalate danger in Iraq. One member of the Council, Muwaffaq al-Rubaiye, told the AFP news agency: “We condemn the killing, which will only serve to strengthen the justifications for terrorist acts in the world and does not serve peace.” Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah said: “Violence will increase now because violence always breeds violence.” Lebanese President Emile Lahoud said Israel was “mistaken” if it thought that by killing resistance fighters, it could kill the Palestinian cause. The spiritual leader of Egypt’s outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Mehdi Akef, said Sheikh Yassin had fallen as a “martyr” in a “cowardly operation”.

BBC diplomatic correspondent Barnaby Mason says the world’s big powers are likely to be dismayed that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has chosen to escalate Israeli military action against Hamas. Our correspondent says there will also be concern, especially in the British government, that the killing might further hinder the progress of the international roadmap peace plan for the Middle East.