The director of Military Intelligence, Major General Aharon
Ze'evi, said that he does not believe that Israel's
assassination of Sheik Yassin will lead to a significant rise
in terror attacks even in the short term.
IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon said Tuesday that the
responses of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat and
Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah to Monday's assassination
showed that "they understand that their turn is drawing
near."
Ya'alon said the assassination of Yassin had dealt a severe
blow to the militant organization. "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.
Ya'alon said that Yassin was directly responsible for terror
attacks. "Yassin was neither -- and I should like to stress
it -- a political nor a religious leader," said Ya'alon.
"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."
Prime Minister Sharon told a Likud meeting that Yassin's
ideology "was killing and murdering Jews, wherever they are,
and the destruction of the State of Israel. . . The State of
Israel hit the first and foremost leader of Palestinian
terrorist murderers. I want to make it clear that the war on
terrorism is not over and will continue every day and every
place. It is the natural right of the Jewish nation, as it is
the right of any people, to hunt down those who wish to
exterminate them." Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz called Yassin
Israel's bin Laden, noting that the Al Qaeda leader also dons
a religious mantle.
Ahmed Yassin, a 67-year-old wheelchair-bound cleric who was
committed to Israel's destruction, was killed around 5 a.m.
Monday by three missiles fired from helicopter gunships as he
was taken home from morning prayers in Gaza City. Two
bodyguards and five other Palestinians were killed in the
strike and 17 people were reported wounded, including two of
Yassin's sons, according to unconfirmed Palestinian reports.
According to the IDF, three of those killed were identified
as combatants.
Within hours, tens of thousands of mourners jammed the Gaza
City streets for the funeral procession. "Sharon has opened
the gates of hell and nothing will stop us from cutting off
his head," the Hamas leadership said in a statement
announcing the death of Yassin, the movement's leader. Such
statements are routine public relations steps by the terror
organizations after major Israeli actions.
Yassin founded Hamas in 1987, soon after the start of the
first Palestinian intifadah. It was originally a branch of
the Egyptian-based Muslim Brotherhood. In 1989, Yassin was
jailed by Israel and sentenced to a life term for inciting
Palestinians to attack Israelis as Hamas' founder and for
involvement in several specific murders. But Israel released
Yassin in 1997 as a gesture to Jordan's late King Hussein
after a bungled attempt to assassinate a Hamas leader in
Amman, the Jordanian capital.
Yassin was the ultimate decision maker within Hamas and he
also established its guidelines and policies. He personally
authorized suicide bombings and rocket attacks. In recent
public speeches, he urged a continuation of the armed
struggle and abducting civilians for use as a bargaining chip
to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners. Security
officials said it is unlikely his death will affect attacks
that are already in the planning stage.
Brig.-Gen. Yossi Kupperwasser, head of the Intelligence Corps
research branch, said Yassin had immense power, while other
Hamas figures do not. He said his death leaves a "deep void"
in the Hamas leadership. Yassin is likely to be replaced by
Abdel Aziz Rantissi or a joint leadership because of internal
struggles, he said.
Hamas claimed joint responsibility for a double bombing that
killed 10 Israelis in the port of Ashdod a week ago. Israel
had announced that it would respond harshly to the Ashdod
attack. It also is seeking to hit Hamas ahead of a planned
withdrawal from Gaza. Many have expressed concern about a
rise in Hamas' power there after an Israeli pullout.
According to security sources, Yassin was targeted as part of
Israel's plans for disengagement from the Palestinians, in
the hope of cowing Hamas and offsetting the prestige it will
gain from an Israeli pullback.
The Israeli political establishment was divided on the
assassination. The centrist Shinui and left-wing parties and
groups were generally against it, and right-wing Knesset
members and organizations supported it.
Much of the international community condemned the attack. The
European Union said, "Not only are extrajudicial killings
contrary to international law, they undermine the concept of
the rule of law, which is a key element in the fight against
terrorism." Israel's legal establishment has found the
killings to be lawful in the circumstances that prevail
here.
The United States refrained from criticizing Yassin's
killing. It pointed out that Hamas is a terrorist
organization and that Sheik Yassin was personally involved in
terrorist planning. The United States had no advance
knowledge of the attack, it said. A White House spokesman
added that the United States does not support extrajudicial
killings.
Arafat declared three days of mourning in the territories for
Yassin and opened a mourning tent outside his Ramallah
compound. Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qurei went to Gaza
on Tuesday to participate in the mourning for Yassin.
Egypt said it was pulling out of planned commemorations of
the Camp David peace accords with Israel in protest over the
Yassin assassination. Friday, March 26, marks 25 years since
Egypt became the first Arab nation to sign a peace agreement
with Israel. Egypt had previously agreed to take part in
ceremonies in Jerusalem.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak scoffed when asked how the
assassination of Yassin would affect the Israeli-Palestinian
peace process. "What peace? The world's on fire," he said.
There were some sporadic incidents. An ax-wielding
Palestinian wounded three Israelis in one apparent revenge
attack Monday. He got out of a car in Ramat Gan and attacked
a group of people outside an army base. In the Palestinian-
populated areas, two Palestinians were killed in
confrontations with Israeli forces.
Israeli security forces went on high alert, closing off
Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip.
OC Ground Forces Command Maj.-Gen. Yiftach Rontal said the
army will continue to strike at the Hamas leadership. "As
long as no one on the Palestinian side will fight terror, it
is the IDF which will continue to fight, hitting everyone
involved in terror, including its leaders."
