Hamas founder killed

[nicky g]

I agree with you that a bomb that killed ten innocent people should be regarded as more "provocative" than the assassination of a senior political/military/terrorist figure. But in practice it isn't, for the simple reason that figureheads are known and followed by thousands and ahve large scale followings, while ordinary people tend to be forgotten very quickly. If a nation's secret services planted a bomb in the US that killed a dozen people or asassinated George Bush, which do you think would be regarded as more "provocative"? If Hamas killed Sharon it would escalate the conflict far more than another bus bombing, and this will sadly escalate the conflict far more than the murder of hundreds of innocent Palestinian civilians by the IDF has. The entire world media has reported this as a significant escalation, not just Menzies Campbell.

I don't understand what you think this accomplishes. Will it prevent any more bombings? Do you think a 70- year-old paraplegic was intimately involved in the planning and carrying out of attacks or had anything useful to contribute to them? Yassin's rhetoric may have been deplorable but the bombers don't need his go-ahead to carry out attacks, as we'll no doubt see in the near future. Should other religious/political leaders that condone terrorist tactics be assassinated? What of the numerous right-wing rabbis in Israel who condone or even praise Baruch Goldstein's acts? What makes them any different from Yassin?

You joke about Sharon trembling in his boots at the thought of more suicide bombers, but Sharon ins't going to be affected by them, and it will be no laughing matter for the dozens that will no doubt die in the aftermath of this. You are kidding yourself if youbelieve that the number of attacks can't increase, or that this can't radicalise people further or recruit more bombers, or that this won't push back a negotiated settlement. Someone else will replace Yassin, a lot more people will die, and nothing will have been accomplished except Sharon getting a hard-on from directing another pointless killing.