Assassination by Israelis Sparks Protests, Outrage

Israel’s assassination of Hamas spiritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin sparked international condemnation Monday as tens of thousands of Palestinian protesters flooded the streets here demanding revenge. In Washington, U.S. officials denied advance knowledge of the killing.

As Palestinians followed Yassin’s funeral procession along a 15-block stretch of Gaza City, they raised their fists in anger and chanted, “By blood, by soul, we sacrifice for you.”

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon defended the helicopter attack on the wheelchair-bound Yassin as he left a mosque as an act of self-defense against terrorism.

“This morning, the state of Israel struck at the head of Palestinian terrorist murderers. The ideological essence of this man was one [aim] -- the murder and the killing of Jews wherever they may be, and the destruction of Israel,” Sharon told fellow Likud Party members of the Knesset, or parliament. “The war against terrorism isn’t over, and it will continue every day and everywhere.”

The Israeli security Cabinet endorsed Yassin’s assassination last week -- part of Israel’s controversial policy of “targeted killings” of alleged militant leaders -- following a double suicide bombing at the Israeli port of Ashdod that killed 10 workers.

Bush administration officials, who met Monday in Washington with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, denied that the U.S. had advance notice of Israel’s assassination plan. While U.S. officials described Yassin’s killing as “not helpful,” they also reiterated what they called Israel’s right to self-defense.

“Hamas is a terrorist organization,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. “Sheik Yassin was personally involved in terrorism.”

European Union leaders and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan condemned the assassination, saying it would further harm efforts to settle the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“Such actions are not only contrary to international law, but they do not do anything to help the search for a peaceful solution,” Annan said.

British Foreign Minister Jack Straw labeled the action “unjustified,” and Javier Solana, foreign policy chief of the European Union, said the move would hurt peace efforts.

Palestinian officials said they planned to protest to the United Nations Security Council over what they see as Israel’s escalation of the conflict.

“What happened today was very dangerous. Even more dangerous is what may follow from this operation,” said Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Korei, speaking to reporters following a Cabinet meeting devoted almost solely to the attack.

Grief, Rage in Gaza

On the streets of Gaza, people poured out of their homes to mourn Yassin’s death and promise vengeance.

From the Al Omari mosque on the street where Yassin was killed to the cemetery where he was buried, men waved flags and banners of Palestinian resistance groups -- the green of Hamas mixing with the trademark yellow of Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, black of Islamic Jihad and red of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine -- as van-mounted speakers urged people to remember the “martyrs” and masked militants fired Kalashnikovs in the air.

“All Palestinians are joined as one today,” said Amir Gazawi, 42 and unemployed, looking out over the sea of faces. “Israel may have tanks. They may have Apache helicopters and F-16s. But we have our blood, our dignity and our beliefs. And they can’t kill that.”

“We are going to defend ourselves and continue our armed struggle,” said Mahmoud Zahar, a physician and Hamas political leader, walking in the crowd. “Even if they kill all the Palestinian people, the next generation will spring up to fight.”

Zahar and Abdulaziz Rantisi, a top-level Hamas spokesman who survived an Israeli assassination attempt last summer and has spent much of the time since in hiding, took the risky step of appearing in public at the funeral.

An Israeli surveillance drone circled overhead as Yassin’s banner-draped casket passed through the densely packed streets on the shoulders of young men. Mourners surged forward to touch the casket. The smell of petroleum emanated from clumps of ash and steel wires, the remnants of tires that people had burned every few hundred feet on the road after learning about the Israeli attack.

Yassin was fired upon by an Israeli helicopter as he left early morning prayers. The missile attack also killed seven other people including, Yassin’s two bodyguards.

Following Monday’s attack, security remained tight around Israel. The government barred Palestinians from entering from the West Bank and Gaza Strip and stepped up precautions at Israeli facilities abroad. The Gaza Strip is already under tight control; unlike the West Bank, it is completely enclosed by a fence and the Mediterranean Sea.

In the West Bank, schools and businesses were closed for a one-day general strike and demonstrations involving thousands of Palestinians erupted in some of the biggest cities. In a sign of widespread mourning, Palestinian radio stations carried news and readings from the Koran, but no music.

During the grinding 3 1/2-year Palestinian uprising, or intifada, militants have carried out dozens of bombings of Israeli civilian targets, as well as highway shootings and mortar strikes against Jewish settlers.

Israel has often restricted movement by ordinary Palestinians through closures and checkpoints, and launched repeated military incursions into Palestinian neighborhoods to dislodge fighters.

Suicide bombings and other attacks have claimed nearly 950 Israeli lives since September 2000, while more than 2,750 Palestinians have died in clashes with Israeli troops.

While some militant groups seek an end to Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Hamas rejects the Israeli state altogether.

Fear of Reprisal

While the assassination drew praise from many Israeli politicians, it also prompted worry that by targeting a high-profile figure such as Yassin, Israel risked a wave of retaliation.

“Hamas will not be eradicated,” said Interior Minister Avraham Poraz, a member of the centrist Shinui Party, who said he had voted against the assassination plan. “Its activity will continue, and they will try to carry out a number of terror attacks, perhaps even terror attacks overseas with the help of their partners.”

Some analysts warned that the action could radicalize ordinary Palestinians and weaken the standing of moderates who favor dialogue with Israel.

“It wasn’t the killing of some senior ... activist, it was the killing of a Palestinian symbol, and I believe that it wasn’t a lot less than the killing of Arafat would have been as far as the Palestinian reaction is concerned,” Reuven Paz, a counter-terrorism expert, told Israel Radio.

“The fact that Yassin was assassinated as he was going out of a mosque on a wheelchair adds to the emotions which will make him in the end into an unforgettable symbol in the Palestinian street,” Paz said.

Scattered outbreaks of violence left at least five Palestinians dead and caused dozens of injuries as protesters clashed with Israeli troops.

In Nablus, Israeli soldiers shot and killed a 21-year-old man, identified as a student radio reporter, who was standing among protesters when troops approached. Army officials said soldiers opened fire after the man shot at them with a pistol. Another man died during a confrontation in Hebron. Three people, including a 13-year-old boy, were killed during a clash in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli media reports.

Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed to have fired a mortar at a Jewish settlement near Bethlehem, but Israeli officials said a blast heard there was caused by a military flare. Palestinian gunmen were shooting at that settlement, called Gilo, and a second one nearby. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Near the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, a Palestinian man attacked three Israelis with an ax, causing minor injuries.

Late Monday, Israeli tanks were moving into the northern Gaza Strip following reports that Jewish settlements had come under rocket fire. No casualties were reported.

Yassin, a quadriplegic who got around by wheelchair, survived an attempt to kill him in September when an Israeli airplane dropped a bomb on a building where he was meeting with other Hamas leaders.

Crippled in a sporting accident as a young man, Yassin was imprisoned in 1989 by Israel under a life sentence until his release in 1997 in a swap for two Israeli secret service agents.

Yassin gave his blessing to suicide bombers and advocated a holy war to reclaim what is now Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip for a Palestinian homeland.

Israel Justifies Strike

Israeli officials compared Yassin to Osama bin Laden, saying the Hamas founder directed or inspired dozens of suicide bombings against Israeli civilians during the 42-month intifada. Many Arabs have embraced the view that a Palestinian state will be achieved only through armed struggle.

“Ahmed Yassin was a terrorist,” Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said. “He has the blood of hundreds of Israelis, children, women and infants on his hands. He sent murderers to perpetrate the most devastating terrorist attacks in Israel.”

The helicopter attack came less than a week after Israeli officials announced they were intensifying their offensive against militant groups in response to the port bombing.

Israel is debating a Sharon proposal to unilaterally withdraw Jewish settlers and soldiers from the Gaza Strip -- a move the militants hope to depict as an Israeli military defeat. Israel has made clear it intends to strike hard at extremists before any withdrawal.

In recent weeks, the armed groups have carried out attacks at the main crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel and battled Israeli soldiers carrying out raids aimed at breaking the militant strongholds in Palestinian neighborhoods.

In Gaza City, several mourners said Israel’s attack represented a recruiting bonanza for Hamas and other militant Palestinian wings in a position to harvest the resentment.

“I’m here to participate in the funeral of the martyr of our leader,” said 13-year-old Haytham Foura, holding a green Hamas flag. “I want to be a fighter for God. I want to carry an AK-47 and fight till we force out the Israelis.”

In the Al Sabra neighborhood, a pair of 3-inch holes in the pavement and several scars on a plaster wall marked Monday’s 5:15 a.m. attack.

On the underside of a parapet 10 feet above the street, small bits of darkened flesh were still stuck to the plaster late Monday. Nearby, neighbors examined what was left of the wheelchair, three wheels blown off, its charred back pocked.

As a small crowd gathered, Ahmed Aloul, 16, stood nearby mourning the death of his father, one of the seven killed along with Yassin.

“I’m sad that my father left us,” Ahmed said, holding the wheelchair. “But he wanted to be a martyr, and he became one.”

Magnier reported from Gaza City and Ellingwood from Jerusalem.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Israeli attacks

Israel has carried out many attacks against the Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaderships, including one in September that Hamas spiritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin narrowly escaped. Among those killed in Israeli ground and air attacks since December:

* Feb. 28: Mahmoud Juda, Islamic Jihad military leader in the northern Gaza Strip

* Feb. 11: Hani abu Skhila, senior Hamas activist

* Feb. 7: Aziz Mahmoud Shami, Islamic Jihad senior local field commander

* Dec. 25, 2003: Makled Hamid, senior Islamic Jihad militant

Source: Times research