Israel vows to kill more Palestinian militants
JASON KEYSER
Associated Press, 22 August 2003
Israel plans to kill more Palestinian militants, military officials warned, as thousands of Palestinians gathered for the funeral of the Hamas leader killed yesterday, promised thunderous revenge.
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.
Palestinian leaders said yesterday's killing of Ismail Abu Shanab, a senior aide to Hamas chief Ahmed Yassin, had halted an imminent campaign against militants by Palestinian security forces, which would have included arrests and weapons roundups.
The militant groups called off their two-month-old ceasefire and promised more suicide bombings and other attacks on Israeli targets.
Hamas quickly dispatched squads of young activists in Gaza to launch home-made rockets into Israel. Six of the crude projectiles were 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 that there were plans to kill other top Hamas leaders if there are new Palestinian suicide attacks and no efforts by Palestinian police forces 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."
A Palestinian suicide bombing on a Jerusalem bus on Tuesday killed 20 people, including six children, prompting Israel's strike on Abu Shanab, a 53-year-old Hamas leader.
Israel's Maariv newspaper today published photographs of 34 top Palestinian militants on a deck of cards in an imitation of the cards the US military hands out to soldiers showing the faces of wanted Iraqis from Saddam Hussein's deposed government. The ace of hearts is Yassin. The joker is Yasser Arafat.
Under the US-sponsored "road map" peace plan , launched on 4 June, the Palestinians are required to dismantle Islamic and other militant groups.
After Tuesday's suicide attack in Jerusalem, aides to Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen said for the first time that he would go after militants, something he had previously rejected for fear of setting off a civil war. 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 that the renewed violence threatened to topple the already weak prime minister who was appointed in April under pressure from US and Israeli leaders searching for an alternative to Mr 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."
A poll published today, found that only 35 per cent of Israelis thought peace talks with Mr Mazen should continue following Tuesday's bombing.