Hamas founder killed
 

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...l_palestinians

Amazingly, things are going to get uglier over there.

Re: Hamas founder killed
 

Good news: One less religious fundamentalist to deal with.

Bad news: There are plenty of religious fundamentalists (Jews and Muslims) who like to wantonly kill each other left over there.

More Bad News: There are plenty of disaffected people on who can be used by the extremists on either side for their respective killing machines.

Killing in the name of God shall continue in the "Holy" lands.

I think I will avoid Palestine/Israel for the moment.

Re: Hamas founder killed
 

From the Article:

Al Aqsa, a secular group responsible for dozens of attacks on Israelis, said in a statement faxed to The Associated Press, "An eye for an eye, and the retaliation will be in the coming hours, God willing."

Outside the morgue at Shifa Hospital, Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh, a close associate of Yassin, said, "This is the moment Sheik Yassin dreamed about. Sheik Yassin lived and died and offered his life to Palestine.

"Sheik Yassin was a hero and a fighter and the leader of a nation, and (he) is in heaven now."

Cars drove through the streets blaring calls for revenge over loudspeakers. Some aired recordings of Yassin, saying, "We chose this road, and will end with martyrdom or victory."

Mosques read passages from the Quran and two Gaza churches rang their church bells.

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Here\'s a safe bet for ya
 

Violence between Israelis and Palestinians will escalate even further and will probably hit the United States as well.

Forget the characterizations for a moment and look at it from a practical point of view. Both Arafat and the Hamas leader, Yassin, have been termed "terrorists" by the Israelis. And Israel is admittedly extremely powerful and well-informed about the movements of these men. The question then about Israel's reasons for not killing them can only be answered thusly : Because Israel has chosen not to.

Why has it chosen not to? Well, as the article linked by Clarkmeister says, "Past Israeli governments were reluctant to target Yassin, fearing a firestorm of revenge attacks."

If that is so, let's ask ourselves not if Arafat or Yassin are criminals and not if they deserve to die. Let's ask ourselves if their killing (Yassin's for the monent) serves peace or serves a further descend into hell.

Then let's ask ourselves which of the two sides in the conflict is best served by such an escalation. (If you have troubles answering this question, try spelling "Bush Peace Road Map". Without laughing.)

Peace Now?

Re: Here\'s a safe bet for ya
 

This has killed any chance of a peaceful settlement for at least a decade.
What are the chances Sharon will "regretfully" have to indefinitely postpone his Gaza withdrawal plan once the cycle of revenge violence gets going? The Israeli government is deliberately engaging in the most blatant kind of terrorist tactitcs: provoke a terrible response from the other side to justify further violence.

A Safer Bet
 

Here's a safer bet for ya, suicide terrorist attacks will continue in Israel. When Hamas states that there will be retaliation what else is new? Like it really matters whether or not Yassin was killed. At least Yassin went the way he wanted to go.

Re: Here\'s a safe bet for ya
 

[ QUOTE ]
This has killed any chance of a peaceful settlement for at least a decade.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're dreaming, this hasn't effected the chance of a peaceful settlement one iota.

[ QUOTE ]
What are the chances Sharon will "regretfully" have to indefinitely postpone his Gaza withdrawal plan once the cycle of revenge violence gets going?

[/ QUOTE ]

Given that the Yassin assassanation was part of the cycle of revenge violence I'm not sure this has changed anything. What are the chances that Hamas will end it's terrorist attacks on Israel? NADA, the same as it was before Yassin was killed.

[ QUOTE ]
The Israeli government is deliberately engaging in the most blatant kind of terrorist tactitcs: provoke a terrible response from the other side to justify further violence.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've got one for you. Just substitute "Hamas" for "The Isreali government."

Hamas is deliberately engaging in the most blatant kind of terrorist tactitcs:provoke a terrible response from the other side to justify further violence.

Re: Hamas founder killed
 

[ QUOTE ]
Amazingly, things are going to get uglier over there.

[/ QUOTE ]

It seems to me that the cycle of violence won't be affected one bit due to this. Two excerpts from today's WSJ reporting on Yassin assassanation:
Israel held Mr. Yassin responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a former army general, was updated throughout the operation.

The Yassin assassination was seen as an enormous gamble by Mr. Sharon, who is trying to score a decisive victory against Hamas ahead of a possible Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, but risks triggering a dramatic escalation in bloodshed that could turn the public's mood in Israel against him.

Mr. Mofaz, the Israeli defense minister, said Mr. Yassin was the "Palestinian bin Laden," referring to fugitive Saudi terror mastermind Osama bin Laden.

Gideon Meir, an Israeli Foreign Ministry official, said Mr. Yassin was directly responsible for the scores of suicide attacks Hamas unleashed since 2000. "He is the one who is sending children and women to explode themselves," Mr. Meir said.

and

Hamas promised a harsh response. "Yassin is a man in a nation, and a nation in a man. And the retaliation of this nation will be of the size of this man," said Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a prominent Hamas leader in Gaza who himself escaped an Israeli assassination attempt last June.

For the first time, Hamas also threatened the U.S., saying America's backing of Israel made the assassination possible. "All the Muslims of the world will be honored to join in on the retaliation for this crime," Hamas said in a statement.

In the past, Hamas leaders have insisted their struggle is against Israel and that they would not get involved in causes by militant Muslims in other parts of the world. Monday's statement suggested that Hamas might seek outside help in carrying out revenge attacks, since its capabilities have been limited by Israeli military strikes.

The militant groups Islamic Jihad and Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, sometimes at odds with Hamas, also promised revenge.

"This crime has affected every Palestinian, and the retaliation for it will be from every Palestinian," said Abu Qusay, an Al Aqsa leader in Gaza. An Al Aqsa statement said retaliation "will be in the coming hours, God willing."

Re: Hamas founder killed
 

I can't help feeling that the image a high-tech missile, fired from a multi-million dollar F-16 fighter jet being used to take out a 70 year-old man in a wheelchair belongs more in something like "Dr Strangelove" than real life.

Re: Here\'s a safe bet for ya
 

Of course Hamas is engaged in similar tactics. They're a terrorist group that everyone here roundly condemns. Nevertheless, the Israeli government is now clearly playing exactly the same game.
You're the dreamer if you think this will have no bearing. The Israelis simply are not going to be able to defeat Hamas militarily. The only way to end the violence is some kind of negotiated solution that drains away support for the terrorists. Instead this is going to double it, and there is zero chance of a drop in the violence in the forseeable future. You will say that there never was such a chance but that repeated lulls and offers of ceasefires demonstrate that simply isn't true and you just demonstrate your ignorance of the situation by repeating such uninformed rhetoric.