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Israel to Target More Militant Leaders
Israel to Target More Militant Leaders
12 minutes ago
By IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writer
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israel plans to kill more militant chiefs in raids mirroring a lethal missile strike on a top Hamas leader, Israeli officials warned Friday, as tens of thousands of Palestinians at his funeral promised revenge.
Palestinian leaders said the killing of Ismail Abu Shanab, a top aide to Hamas chief Ahmed Yassin, ruined an imminent campaign against militants by Palestinian security forces that would have included arrests and weapons roundups.
The militants called off their two-month-old cease-fire and promised more suicide bombings and other attacks on Israeli targets, raising chances that a new round of Mideast violence will sink a U.S.-backed peace plan that aims to stop three years of violence and create a Palestinian state.
Hamas quickly dispatched squads of young activists in Gaza to launch homemade rockets into Israel. By Friday morning, six of the crude projectiles had been fired, damaging two houses but causing no injuries. More than a dozen mortars were also launched at Jewish settlements within Gaza, damaging another house.
Several high ranking Israeli military officials said on condition of anonymity that there were plans to kill other top Hamas leaders if new Palestinian suicide attacks occur and Palestinian police forces make no efforts to arrest extremists.
Speaking at the funeral of Abu Shanab, another Hamas leader, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, who survived an Israeli rocket attack on his car in June, said that if the Israelis kill him and other top militants, a secret leadership is ready to take over.
"They think that targeting leaders will stop Jihad (holy war). They are mistaken," he said. "All of us in Hamas from top to bottom are looking to become like Abu Shanab."
In the funeral procession in Gaza City, men carried the bodies of Abu Shanab and his two bodyguards. The streets echoed with shouts for revenge. Some in the crowd chanted together a warning for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz: "Sharon and Mofaz listen very well, our retaliation will send you to hell."
A Palestinian suicide bombing on a Jerusalem bus on Tuesday killed 20 people, including six children, prompting Israel's strike on Abu Shanab, 53, trained in the United States as a civil engineer.
On Friday, Israel's Maariv newspaper published photos of 34 top Palestinian militants on a deck of cards imitating the U.S. military deck of 55 most-wanted Iraqis. The ace of hearts is Yassin. The joker is Yasser Arafat (news - web sites).
Khaled Batch, an Islamic Jihad leader picked as the nine of clubs, quipped: "We fear only God, not their cards."
An Israeli security source said all Hamas leaders were now considered fair targets and new strikes would be launched after a 24 hour lull to give Palestinians a chance to act on their own against militants. "We were waiting to see even just one Hamas arrest," he said.
The "road map" peace plan launched June 4 requires the Palestinians to dismantle Islamic and other militant groups.
After Tuesday's suicide attack in Jerusalem, aides to Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas said for the first time that he would go after militants, something he had earlier rejected for fear of setting off civil warfare. But those plans were scrapped after Israel's helicopter attack, which killed Abu Shanab and two bodyguards, the aides said.
Palestinian legislator Ziad Abu Zayyad said the renewed violence threatens to topple the already weak prime minister — also known as Abu Mazen — who was appointed in April under pressure from U.S. and Israeli leaders searching for an alternative to Arafat.
"If this situation continues, Abu Mazen will not last long," Abu Zayyad said. "Those interested in Abu Mazen's success must pressure Israel to stop undermining his government."
Abbas, largely failing to win his own people's support because talks with Israel did not produce the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, appeared to be losing confidence among Israelis as well.
A poll published Friday, found that only 35 percent of Israelis thought peace talks with Abbas should continue following Tuesday's bombing. The survey of 501 adults by the Dahaf polling company was printed in the Yediot Ahronot newspaper and quoted a margin of error of 4.5 percent.
Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner said Israel's strikes on militants were necessary to move along the road to peace. "The strategy is legitimate self-defense," he said. "We go only after those who hit us."
Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers again set up road blocks along Gaza's main north-south highway, effectively cutting the strip in half. Hundreds of motorists were stranded on the roadway, which had been briefly reopened in one of Israel's most significant gestures Israel to improve the daily lives of ordinary Palestinians.
The military said it closed the road to try to stop the firing of rockets into Israel.
Egypt sent an adviser to President Hosni Mubarak (news - web sites), Osama el-Baz, to meet with Arafat, in an apparent effort to try to salvage the cease-fire. Israel Army Radio reported that the envoy was also to meet Israel's foreign minister.
In the West Bank, Israeli tanks and other armored vehicles rolled into the towns of Jenin, Tulkarem and Nablus for a second night of raids searching for wanted Palestinians. Troops used explosives to demolish three houses that belonged to the families of militants who carried out attacks.
12 minutes ago
By IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writer
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israel plans to kill more militant chiefs in raids mirroring a lethal missile strike on a top Hamas leader, Israeli officials warned Friday, as tens of thousands of Palestinians at his funeral promised revenge.
Palestinian leaders said the killing of Ismail Abu Shanab, a top aide to Hamas chief Ahmed Yassin, ruined an imminent campaign against militants by Palestinian security forces that would have included arrests and weapons roundups.
The militants called off their two-month-old cease-fire and promised more suicide bombings and other attacks on Israeli targets, raising chances that a new round of Mideast violence will sink a U.S.-backed peace plan that aims to stop three years of violence and create a Palestinian state.
Hamas quickly dispatched squads of young activists in Gaza to launch homemade rockets into Israel. By Friday morning, six of the crude projectiles had been fired, damaging two houses but causing no injuries. More than a dozen mortars were also launched at Jewish settlements within Gaza, damaging another house.
Several high ranking Israeli military officials said on condition of anonymity that there were plans to kill other top Hamas leaders if new Palestinian suicide attacks occur and Palestinian police forces make no efforts to arrest extremists.
Speaking at the funeral of Abu Shanab, another Hamas leader, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, who survived an Israeli rocket attack on his car in June, said that if the Israelis kill him and other top militants, a secret leadership is ready to take over.
"They think that targeting leaders will stop Jihad (holy war). They are mistaken," he said. "All of us in Hamas from top to bottom are looking to become like Abu Shanab."
In the funeral procession in Gaza City, men carried the bodies of Abu Shanab and his two bodyguards. The streets echoed with shouts for revenge. Some in the crowd chanted together a warning for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz: "Sharon and Mofaz listen very well, our retaliation will send you to hell."
A Palestinian suicide bombing on a Jerusalem bus on Tuesday killed 20 people, including six children, prompting Israel's strike on Abu Shanab, 53, trained in the United States as a civil engineer.
On Friday, Israel's Maariv newspaper published photos of 34 top Palestinian militants on a deck of cards imitating the U.S. military deck of 55 most-wanted Iraqis. The ace of hearts is Yassin. The joker is Yasser Arafat (news - web sites).
Khaled Batch, an Islamic Jihad leader picked as the nine of clubs, quipped: "We fear only God, not their cards."
An Israeli security source said all Hamas leaders were now considered fair targets and new strikes would be launched after a 24 hour lull to give Palestinians a chance to act on their own against militants. "We were waiting to see even just one Hamas arrest," he said.
The "road map" peace plan launched June 4 requires the Palestinians to dismantle Islamic and other militant groups.
After Tuesday's suicide attack in Jerusalem, aides to Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas said for the first time that he would go after militants, something he had earlier rejected for fear of setting off civil warfare. But those plans were scrapped after Israel's helicopter attack, which killed Abu Shanab and two bodyguards, the aides said.
Palestinian legislator Ziad Abu Zayyad said the renewed violence threatens to topple the already weak prime minister — also known as Abu Mazen — who was appointed in April under pressure from U.S. and Israeli leaders searching for an alternative to Arafat.
"If this situation continues, Abu Mazen will not last long," Abu Zayyad said. "Those interested in Abu Mazen's success must pressure Israel to stop undermining his government."
Abbas, largely failing to win his own people's support because talks with Israel did not produce the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, appeared to be losing confidence among Israelis as well.
A poll published Friday, found that only 35 percent of Israelis thought peace talks with Abbas should continue following Tuesday's bombing. The survey of 501 adults by the Dahaf polling company was printed in the Yediot Ahronot newspaper and quoted a margin of error of 4.5 percent.
Israeli government spokesman Avi Pazner said Israel's strikes on militants were necessary to move along the road to peace. "The strategy is legitimate self-defense," he said. "We go only after those who hit us."
Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers again set up road blocks along Gaza's main north-south highway, effectively cutting the strip in half. Hundreds of motorists were stranded on the roadway, which had been briefly reopened in one of Israel's most significant gestures Israel to improve the daily lives of ordinary Palestinians.
The military said it closed the road to try to stop the firing of rockets into Israel.
Egypt sent an adviser to President Hosni Mubarak (news - web sites), Osama el-Baz, to meet with Arafat, in an apparent effort to try to salvage the cease-fire. Israel Army Radio reported that the envoy was also to meet Israel's foreign minister.
In the West Bank, Israeli tanks and other armored vehicles rolled into the towns of Jenin, Tulkarem and Nablus for a second night of raids searching for wanted Palestinians. Troops used explosives to demolish three houses that belonged to the families of militants who carried out attacks.
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