Hamas chief assassinated by Israel

[Intifada]

from aljazeera

Top Hamas leader Abd al-Aziz al-Rantisi has been killed by an Israeli helicopter missile strike on his car in Gaza City.

Two of al-Rantisi's bodyguards were also killed in the attack on Saturday evening.

Medics said al-Rantisi was rushed to a Gaza City hospital in a critical condition after the attack. He had reportedly been wounded in the head with shrapnel.

Hundreds of outraged Hamas members and supporters flocked to the hospital after news of the Israeli raid.

The air strike occurred hours after an Israeli border policeman was killed by a Palestinian bomber at the Erez crossing on the Israeli-Gaza border.

No immediate comment was available from the Israeli army on the helicopter strike.

Co-founder

Al-Rantisi, a co-founder of Hamas, has become one of its two main leaders since Israel's killing of Hamas spiritual head Ahmad Yasin in Gaza on 22 March.

Israel tried to kill al-Rantisi, the public face of a Palestinian resistance group that normally stays in the shadows, last June.

On that occasion he and his teenage son were wounded in an Israeli helicopter missile strike on his car, also in Gaza City.

Al-Rantisi had refused to go into hiding like many of his comrades on Israel's wanted list since Hamas launched a human bombing campaign to spearhead a three and a half-year-old Palestinian uprising.

Political role

He had long depicted himself as a Hamas politician with no links to the military wing.

But Israel had refused to accept the distinction, accusing him of being a top decision-maker on attacks and of using his media role to incite violence.

With al-Rantisi filling the role of Hamas spokesman, camera crews from around the world have trooped to his modestly furnished living room to hear him issue vows of revenge, often in calm, even tones, for Israel's killing of resistance activists.

[Kurai Tsuki]

Thank you for giving this information, i havn't looked at any news source today and had you not posted it i probably would not have known.

It seems that after Hizb Allah pushed the Iraeli army out of southern Lebanon they know the potency of ornagized Arab nationalists, I wonder what Hammas' plan for recovery from this strike will be.

This, along with the killing of Yassin, could also be the act that triggers the retaliation that makes Israel pull back its troops from the the West Bank and Gaza; as the execution of two women in a southern Lebanese Israeli prison provoked a string of missle strikes from Hizb Allah. :ph34r:

[Kurai Tsuki]

This attack did not happen very long after Bush complimented Sharon's policy towards the Palestinians...

[Intifada]

This attack did not happen very long after Bush complimented Sharon's policy towards the Palestinians...

and america also doesn&#39;t condemn this murder... <_<

[Invader Zim]

Originally posted by [email protected] 18 2004, 01:01 PM

This attack did not happen very long after Bush complimented Sharon&#39;s policy towards the Palestinians...

and america also doesn&#39;t condemn this murder... <_<
Do you? Condem the killing of an extreamist who tells kids to blow them selves up and kill scores of other, in the name of god, or some shit?

I think that killing Hamas leaders is counter productive to any peace agreement, but i&#39;m not sorry that the bastards are worm food.

[Intifada]

Do you? Condem the killing of an extreamist who tells kids to blow them selves up and kill scores of other, in the name of god, or some shit?

i do condemn the killing. israel could have arrested him and had him tried, but it wants to provoke a palestinian response, which would be violent. this would deepen the cycle of violence and made matters worse.

[M.L]

i do condemn the killing. israel could have arrested him and had him tried, but it wants to provoke a palestinian response, which would be violent. this would deepen the cycle of violence and made matters worse.I don&#39;t think he would allowed himself being arrested, he would most certainly chosen a martyr death&#33;

Hamas has stated that they will respond a hundread times worse&#33;
And if that is what they will do I don&#39;t think the killing was very counter productive.


and america also doesn&#39;t condemn this murder... They say that Israel has the right to defend itself but at the same time they say that they have to be ready to take the consequences and those can be massive&#33;

[Urban Rubble]

but it wants to provoke a palestinian response,

It wants to provoke them ? Why would Israel want to be attacked ?

[LuZhiming]

Originally posted by Urban [email protected] 19 2004, 12:18 AM
It wants to provoke them ? Why would Israel want to be attacked ?
That&#39;s common sense. You have to distinguish between the Israeli government and its collaborators and the rest of Israel&#39;s population. The Israeli government does not care if its citizens are killed, and provoking a violent response gives excellent justification for carrying out all sorts of acts.

[Invader Zim]

Originally posted by LuZhiming+Apr 19 2004, 01:06 AM--> (LuZhiming &#064; Apr 19 2004, 01:06 AM)
Urban [email protected] 19 2004, 12:18 AM
It wants to provoke them ? Why would Israel want to be attacked ?
That&#39;s common sense. You have to distinguish between the Israeli government and its collaborators and the rest of Israel&#39;s population. The Israeli government does not care if its citizens are killed, and provoking a violent response gives excellent justification for carrying out all sorts of acts. [/b]
As do the palestinian&#39;s leadership most likley. They are all wankers. (not the people them selves, of course just the leaders and politicians)

So sayeth the lord.

[praxis1966]

Exactly. This sort of thing is nothing new. The UV used to pull this thing all the time in order to provoke a response from the various incarnations of the IRA in Belfast. The RUC would then be forced to act. It&#39;s pretty standard really.

[M.L]

Maybe Israel is provoking the palestinians even more now when they are about to leave Gaza?
They want to have reasons to attack so they can leave the palestinians with absolutely nothing the come get - leave them in ruins.

[Cobber]

Australia&#39;s Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, followed the US lead by not condeming Israel&#39;s act of state-sponsored terrorism but indicated that he was "very concerned"&#33;

[Lacrimi de Chiciură]

Whats worse is that Bush supported the attack.

DOUCHE BAG&#33;

[Chewillneverdie]

so what do you people suggest the Isrealis should do about Hamas, they are a goddam terrorist organization, lol how can you support them, Im happy to see Abd al-Aziz al-Rantisi dead, he actually commanded quite a few suicide bombings, but if innocents die in Isreal its okay right? Although this is really counter-productive, and a horrid timing.

[Intifada]

so what do you people suggest the Isrealis should do about Hamas, they are a goddam terrorist organization, lol how can you support them, Im happy to see Abd al-Aziz al-Rantisi dead, he actually commanded quite a few suicide bombings, but if innocents die in Isreal its okay right? Although this is really counter-productive, and a horrid timing.

israel should stop aggravating extremists. it should stop oppressing the palestinians.

[The idealist]

The problem is that Israel does not want to let go of it&#39;s lands. The peaceful option would be to try to start dialogue with the extremists and try to find their reasons, because people don&#39;t just blow themselves up for no good reason. By eliminating the top of Hamas&#39; iceberg the israelies only ensure that more floats to the surface. Israel may seem to think that giving in to the palestinian demands is showing weakness, but it is their show of force and brutality that is threatening the palestinians into desperate action. :ph34r: I am sure that if they slowly began to draw their troops and settlers out, the attacks would also slowly end. Sharon should learn from Ghandi, non-violence is quite often the answer. The palestinians could attack anyway instead of showing goodwill, but Israels strongarm tactics give them no chance to do so. :(