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Sharon
To Retaliate, PA Condemns, Hamas Says Resistance Will Continue
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Sharon:
Israel will not surrender to blackmail
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WASHINGTON,
May 8 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon vowed retaliation for the Tel Aviv Rishon Letsion bomb blast
while the Palestinian Authority condemned the attack and Islamic
resistance movement Hamas said that as long as there is Israeli
occupation, Palestinian resistance will continue, news agencies
reported.
Sharon
left for Israel early Wednesday, May 8, after cutting short his visit
here in response to the resistance attack which took place in a Rishon
Letzion pool hall outside Tel Aviv late Tuesday.
"The
battle continues and will continue until all of those who believe that
they make gains through the use of terror will cease to exist,"
said Sharon before heading for the airport. "Israel will act
strongly," he said, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP)
Sharon
said he still believed a planned international conference on the
Middle East was important for bringing about an end to violence in the
region.
But
he hinted Israel would seek a military solution if the attacks
continued. He vowed a strong response to the attack saying that Israel
"will not surrender to blackmail."
"He
who rises up to kill us, we will pre-empt it and kill him first."
Without
mentioning his name, Sharon blamed the attack on Palestinian President
Yasser Arafat. "Today, in the face of all our sincere efforts to
move forward on the political path, we received another proof of the
true intentions of the person leading the Palestinian Authority,"
he said.
Sharon,
who spoke after holding talks with President George W. Bush at the
White House, said he still believed a planned international conference
on the Middle East was important for bringing about an end to violence
in the region.
Sharon
said that upon his return he will hold a meeting of Israel's
mini-cabinet that includes leaders of political parties taking part in
the governing coalition to chart the course of action.
The
Palestinian Authority strongly condemned the bombing in a statement.
"The Palestinian leadership will take firm and strict measures
against those who are involved in this operation and will not be
light-handed in punishing those who have caused great harm to our
cause," it said.
In
a statement published by Palestinian News Agency WAFA, the Palestinian
authority said that the timing of the operation is critical at a time
when Sharon is meeting with the U.S. president and only helps to
confirm Sharon’s claims that it is impossible to have peace with the
Palestinian people.
“The
Palestinian authority has repeatedly condemned such operations against
Israeli civilians which gives Sharon the excuse to go forward with
this bloody war against our people and to commit massacres in Jenin
and elsewhere and continue to intensify his military operations in
Palestinian territories.
“The
Palestinian authority considers those groups that perform these
operations as working against the Palestinian people’s cause. We
must put an end to these terrorist crimes which our people pay its
price,” the statement said, reported WAFA.
Hamas
claimed responsibility for the attack in a message to Al Manar
television station in Lebanon. But Mahmoud Zahar, a Hamas spokesman in
Gaza City, said he could not confirm the claim, reported Israeli daily
newspaper Ha’aretz.
"We
do not have any clear evidence or information except what we are
seeing on TV. But if it is a martyrdom operation, it means that Israel
has lost its war against the Palestinians and the Palestinian
resistance has proved that it is capable of reaching the enemy
everywhere,” he said.
Dr.
Abdul Aziz Al-Rantissi, a Hamas leader, said that “as long as there
is occupation there will always be resistance and this is what Sharon
needs to understand. Every drop of blood that was spilled in Jenin,
Nablus, Tulkarem or any place in the West Bank has a price which has
to be paid.”
Speaking
to IslamOnline Al Rantisi said that this operation proves that the
Palestinian will is stronger than Apache and F-16 planes and from the
American war machine which will never succeeded in breaking the
Palestinian will.
“This
operation is the first response from the Palestinian people to the
Israeli terrorist crimes against them,” he added.
Sharon
learned of the attack during his Oval Office session. It allowed Bush
"to personally convey his condolences" as well as
"register his disgust at this wanton taking of innocent
life," said US national security advisor Condoleezza Rice.
Meanwhile,
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said he was appalled by the blast
saying through his spokesman, that he "reiterates in the
strongest possible terms his utter condemnation of all indiscriminate
attacks against civilians."
"Such
attacks are morally repugnant and only set back the prospects for a
peaceful settlement," the statement issued by spokesman Fred
Eckhard said.
"The
secretary general extends his heartfelt condolences to the families of
the victims of this despicable act and to the government of
Israel."
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