SeanAshi
01-21-2004, 12:07 AM
By Mariam Karouny
BEIRUT (*******) - The Palestinian militant group Hamas says its military wing is preparing to
respond to any Israeli action against its spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, who Israel has said
was "marked for death".
Israeli Deputy Defence Minister Zeev Boim said on Friday Israel would find and "liquidate" the
wheelchair-bound Muslim cleric wherever it could find him following a suicide bombing that killed
four Israeli security personnel in Gaza.
It was unclear whether Israel had made a final decision to kill Yassin. Israel made a botched
attempt on Yassin's life last September.
"The leadership of the (Izz el-Deen al-) Qassam Brigades has announced and informed those
concerned that it had started preparing to respond to any aggression or any targeting (of Yassin),"
Usama Hamdan, Hamas head in Lebanon, told ******* on Tuesday.
"If such an operation happens, the response will not stop with Hamas, but it will extend to all the
factions in the Palestinian resistance," he added.
Hamas, an Islamic militant group dedicated to Israel's destruction, claimed responsibility for last
Wednesday's bombing by a Palestinian mother of two on the Gaza-Israel border.
The attack, which killed three Israeli soldiers and a security officer, further undermined chances of
reviving a U.S.-backed peace plan.
Hamdan said the threat to kill Yassin followed Hamas's rejection of an U.S. idea, proposed
through mediators, that Washington would pressure Israel to stop assassinating the group's political
leaders if Hamas stopped "resistance".
"The threat to assassinate Sheikh Ahmed Yassin did not come as a result of the operation of the
martyr Reem al-Reyashi, but it is a response to the movement's rejection of the American idea that
was proposed via mediators."
"Hamas refused this offer, which was proposed twice, saying as long as there is occupation, the
resistance will continue."
Israel has scaled back its attacks on Hamas leaders after a steep drop in suicide bombings inside
Israel and a series of largely failed attempts to kill them last year. Hamdan said Hamas took the
Israeli threats seriously, but would not hide.
"Talk of targeting Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, as the biggest symbol of the resistance, means that all
the political leadership of the movement and all the political symbols are also targets," Hamdan said.
BEIRUT (*******) - The Palestinian militant group Hamas says its military wing is preparing to
respond to any Israeli action against its spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, who Israel has said
was "marked for death".
Israeli Deputy Defence Minister Zeev Boim said on Friday Israel would find and "liquidate" the
wheelchair-bound Muslim cleric wherever it could find him following a suicide bombing that killed
four Israeli security personnel in Gaza.
It was unclear whether Israel had made a final decision to kill Yassin. Israel made a botched
attempt on Yassin's life last September.
"The leadership of the (Izz el-Deen al-) Qassam Brigades has announced and informed those
concerned that it had started preparing to respond to any aggression or any targeting (of Yassin),"
Usama Hamdan, Hamas head in Lebanon, told ******* on Tuesday.
"If such an operation happens, the response will not stop with Hamas, but it will extend to all the
factions in the Palestinian resistance," he added.
Hamas, an Islamic militant group dedicated to Israel's destruction, claimed responsibility for last
Wednesday's bombing by a Palestinian mother of two on the Gaza-Israel border.
The attack, which killed three Israeli soldiers and a security officer, further undermined chances of
reviving a U.S.-backed peace plan.
Hamdan said the threat to kill Yassin followed Hamas's rejection of an U.S. idea, proposed
through mediators, that Washington would pressure Israel to stop assassinating the group's political
leaders if Hamas stopped "resistance".
"The threat to assassinate Sheikh Ahmed Yassin did not come as a result of the operation of the
martyr Reem al-Reyashi, but it is a response to the movement's rejection of the American idea that
was proposed via mediators."
"Hamas refused this offer, which was proposed twice, saying as long as there is occupation, the
resistance will continue."
Israel has scaled back its attacks on Hamas leaders after a steep drop in suicide bombings inside
Israel and a series of largely failed attempts to kill them last year. Hamdan said Hamas took the
Israeli threats seriously, but would not hide.
"Talk of targeting Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, as the biggest symbol of the resistance, means that all
the political leadership of the movement and all the political symbols are also targets," Hamdan said.