Tuesday, June 10, 2003
I've often wondered why this guy is still alive. Well, help or hurt, it looks like Israel may be gearing up to do what Abu Mazen can't or won't.
(Via LGF) IMRA - Tuesday, June 10, 2003 Israel: Sheik Yassin Also In The Crosshairs
Israel: Sheik Yassin Also In The Crosshairs
Aaron Lerner Date: 10 June 2003
Israel Television Channel 2 correspondent Udi Segal reported this evening that Israeli officials say that in addition to Hamas leader Rantissi, Israel has been decided to kill the top man in the Hamas, Sheik Yassin.
Speaking earlier on Channel 2, MK Yuval Steinitz, the head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said that the Government of Israel would be shirking its duty and obligation to the citizens of Israel if it stood by with its arms folded just because the Palestinians are thinking about talking about having some kind of time out.
Steinitz said that President Bush would never take such a stand regarding American citizens facing terror, noting that the difference between Israeli and American operations is that while Israel waited for an opportunity to hit Rantissi with a minimum of peripheral damage, an American operation would have simply dropped a bomb on the top of Rantissi's house, killing
everyone there.
Speaking of taking care of business, LGF also points to this item.
Dubai Al-Arabiyah Television in Arabic, an independent television station financed by Arab businessmen, at 0950 GMT on 10 June carries an interview with Al-Arabiyah TV correspondent in Gaza, Sayf al-Din Shahin to discuss the situation in Gaza following the Israeli attempt on HAMAS leader Abd-al-Aziz al-Rantisi. The correspondent says: "I learned a short while ago that the Israeli Army and Government have asked the representatives of the diplomatic missions, consuls, and foreigners in Gaza to leave the city. We do not know whether this request means that Israeli escalation will continue or that Israel will launch new attacks on Gaza."
I may be changing my opinion on the Rantisi attempt. Yes, it may have been questionable from a PR perspective, but if it's coupled with a serious, major operation to really shake things up, and remove some of the leadership of the groups pledging to oppose the roadmap, then the short-term PR hit may be worth it.
