 |
|
The Israelis had crossed “all red lines with this cheap and dirty crime,” said Arafatý
|
Additional
Reporting By Farid Abu Daheir, IOL Correspondent
GAZA
CITY, March 22 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The Palestinian
Authority vehemently condemned Israel’s
assassination of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in the
small hours of Monday, March 22, and declared three days of national
mourning.
Palestinian
President Yasser Arafat said Israel had crossed “all red lines with
this cheap and dirty crime”.
Arafat
and the Palestinian leadership “condemned this fresh Israeli crime,
the assassination of Sheikh Yassin and other citizens in front of a
mosque in Gaza,” read an official statement carried by Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
In
spite of this “barbaric crime”, the Palestinian people would pursue
“the heroic resistance against the Israeli occupation and the
apartheid wall”, it added in reference to the separation wall being
built by Israel across the West Bank.
TV
images showed thousands of Palestinians amassing outside Arafat’s
presidential headquarters in Ramallah, echoing calls for cutting all
contacts for negotiations with Israel.
‘Atrocious’
Crime
“This
is a big and atrocious crime and a cowardly act targeting one of the
leaders of the Palestinian people,” Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed
Qorei told reporters in Ramallah.
The
assassination of the Hamas spiritual leader was also slammed by
Palestinian negotiation minister Saeb Erakat.
“I
strongly condemn this ignoble crime perpetrated by Israeli forces,"
he told Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television.
“The
Israeli government has thus chosen the path of escalation and
confrontation,” Erekat said.
He
recalled that Israeli occupation forces have killed 64 Palestinians
since the start of March.
 |
|
“This is a big and atrocious crime and a cowardly act targeting one of the leaders ýof the Palestinian people,” said Qorei
|
|
The
Palestinian official warned that the assassination of Sheikh Yassin
would only fan greater violence, demanding international protection for
the Palestinians.
“This
new crime must move the international community to think seriously about
providing international protection for the Palestinian people,” said
Erekat.
“The
world must understand that the cycle of violence, chaos and bloodshed
can never be halted by assassinations, building walls and settlements
... but by the end of Israeli occupation" of Palestinian
territories.
“The
one who took the initiative knows full well the consequences of such a
crime will be escalation and confrontation,” Erakat said, accusing
Israel of “pouring oil on the fire.”
Immediately
after the assassination of 67-year-old Sheikh Yassin by an Israeli
helicopter, all Palestinian resistance factions vowed ground-shattering
retaliations.
An
explosion was heard at the Erez border crossing with Israel several
hours after the assassination.
Israeli
public radio said the air strike against Sheikh Yassin was ordered and
supervised by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Sharon’s
advisor Amos Gilad was quoted by Aljazeera as saying that Arafat is
“much more dangerous that Yassin,” an indication that the
Palestinian leader – who has for years been confined to his
headquarters by Israeli tanks – could be the next on Israel’s hit
list.
Sheikh
Yassin was by far the most senior Palestinian figure assassinated in
more than three years of Palestinian Intifada against Israeli
occupation.
He
was confined
to a wheelchair due to a childhood injury at the age of 12 that left
him paralyzed to the day of his assassination.
He
had been the target of several Israeli assassination attempts since
1948, the year of Israel creation on lands seized from the Palestinians.
Click
to listen to Palestinians' reactions: 
