 |
|
"Sharon's
war on Hamas is an evidence of his failure to stop the
Intifada," Hanniya
|
Additional
Reporting By Samer Khouwaiyra, IOL Palestine Correspondent
OCCCUPIED
JERUSALEM, June 12 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Israeli
Internal Security Minister Tzachi Hanegbi warned Hamas leaders Thursday,
June 12, that not one of them was safe any more.
"Hamas
leaders have no immunity, especially when this organization is doing
everything it can to scuttle the political process," Agence
France-Presse (AFP) quoted Hanegbi as telling army radio.
The
Minister was answering a question on whether Israel would consider
targeting Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, a founder and the spiritual leader of
Hamas.
Earlier
in the day, the army radio announced that the Israeli army has been
ordered to "completely wipe out"
Hamas.
The
order, which directs the military to use "whatever means
necessary," was issued following a meeting of Defense Minister
Shaul Mofaz with the army's top command shortly after the bus
operations.
The
Israeli television quoted senior Israeli officials on Wednesday, June
11, as saying that everyone "from the lowliest member to Sheikh
Ahmad Yassin" is a legitimate target.
For
their part, Ezzuduin Al-Qassam brigades, the armed wing of Hams, urged
Thursday all foreign nationals to leave Israel for their own safety.
In
a statement, the brigades warned that Wednesday's bus was "only the
beginning of a new series of reprisals against the Zionists who occupy
our country," Aljazeera reported.
The
brigades also vowed that Sharon himself was not immune now from any
attacks.
The
latest round of killings and retaliations began on Tuesday, June 11,
when Israeli helicopter gunships fired missiles
at the car of Hamas' political leader, Abdul Aziz Rantissi, in a failed
bid to kill him.
Following
criticism at home and abroad, even from the White House, over the
assassination attempt against Rantissi, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon has remained unmoved.
Sharon
bluntly claimed Thursday that Palestinian officials only ever complain
about violence but do nothing to prevent it.
"These
whiners do nothing against terrorism and only complain when it strikes
again, arguing they are too weak to take action," Sharon told his
ministers at a cabinet meeting.
'Hellfire'
 |
|
Sharon
|
For
his part, Ismail Hanniya, a senior Hamas leader, warned Tuesday that the
Israeli threat to assassinate Sheikh Yassin was a new unwise act of the
Israeli government of Sharon, asserting that "the gates of Hellfire
will break loose."
Speaking
to IslamOnline.net, Hanniya said that the assassination attempts
"will not break the staunch will of Hamas, but Israel is
predestined to loose at the end of the day. They (the attempts) would
only strengthen Hamas' resolve and the resistance of the Palestinian
people."
On
Yassin's reaction to the Israeli threat, Hanniya said, "Yassin is a
steadfast mountain never shaken by such threats…He is a perennial
symbol of the Palestinian nation, Jihad and resistance. Yassin is fully
aware that his lifeline would be closed either by martyrdom
On
the security measures that might be taken by the movement's leaders, he
said that Hamas members "firmly believe in Allah's destiny, but we
do everything in our power and take matters seriously, given that all
Palestinians are on the Israeli black list."
Hanniya
also told AFP that the Israeli order to "completely wipe out"
his movement was evidence of Sharon's failure to stop the Intifada and
bring security to Israel.
"This
threat reveals the security and political crisis Sharon is facing
because he has failed to crush the Palestinian Intifada and bring
security to his citizens."
"It
is not the first time the Zionists threaten our movement and our
political leaders. Every Palestinian has become a target for
Israel," Hanniya said.
"This
Israeli order heralds an all-out war against the Palestinian people,
continuing the escalation it started after the
Aqaba summit,"
he added.
'Peace
Frozen'
Foreign
Minister Silvan Shalom, meanwhile, said Thursday Israel cannot talk
peace with the Palestinians if anti-Israeli attacks continue.
"There
won't be any peace process if the terror attacks continue. There won't
be two tracks, one terror and the other peace talks," Shalom said
in a joint press conference with Dan Kurtzer, the U.S. ambassador to
Israel.
"We
won't fight terror at night and talk peace with the Palestinians during
the day."
"It
is not true that the Palestinian Authority is too weak to fight terror.
We've had enough of these excuses. We will continue to fight terror in
any way we can and prevent the killing of Israeli people," Shalom
added.
Kurtzer
however raised no objections to Israel's policies. He praised Sharon's
commitment to the U.S.-sponsored 'road map' for.
"We
are happy Israel started taking the steps we called for in Aqaba and we
urge the Palestinians to start doing their share by preventing terror
and incitement," he told reporters.
