Israeli Airstrike Kills New Hamas Leader

Second Terrorist Leader Killed In A Month

Published on April 17, 2004 By Larry Kuperman In International

Once again, an Israeli airstrike has eliminated the leader of the terrorist group Hamas.

A month after the assasination of Yassin, the new leader of the group Hamas, recognized by the US State Dept. as a terrorist organization, has been killed by an Israeli airstrike. Israel took this action after a Palestinian suicide bomber attacked the industrial area in Erez, killing a border patrol officer and wounding three others.

Israeli Foreign Ministry official Gideon Meir said this was not the first time Israel has targeted Rantisi. "We tried to do it a few months ago. At that time, he managed to run away. This time we got him," Meir said.

Response has been predictable. The action was condemned by world leaders, except for the US. Hamas vowed to continue terrorist attacks. Which, speaking bluntly, is what they would have done anyway.

Hamas had claimed "credit" for the suicide bombing in Erez, along with Yasser Arafat's Al Aqsa Brigade. World leaders were less vocal in protesting that attack.

Given that Hamas will not negotiate for peace and that terrorist attacks continue unabatated in Israel, I can think of no reason why Israel should not respond in this manner. Not to compare apples and oranges, the situations are not the same, but imagine if the US had been able to respond to the September 11th attack by killing Osama Bin Laden and other senior leaders of Al Queda with a precise missle strike. Would we have done so? I think you know the answer.

Comments (Page 2)

greywar

on Apr 20, 2004

Chomsky - not good enough son. The rest of us leave it out for all to comment on in perpetuity. What is he afraid of? Of wait thats right, actual having his stuff fisked on his own site.

shadesofgrey

on Apr 20, 2004

Chomsky - not good enough son. The rest of us leave it out for all to comment on in perpetuity. What is he afraid of? Of wait thats right, actual having his stuff fisked on his own site.

Ok--enough with hijacking Larry's blog--clearly Noam Chomsky is a busy academic and his blog is more a professional piece than the hobby that we are enjoying. Chomsky does respond to personal emails and letters--or at least he used to, but you can't fault the guy for not allowing comments on his blog--lots of blogs don't have comment spaces--JoeUser is a community blog, but they aren't all like this.

But, let's return to the issue at hand, shall we? Greywar, I'm disturbed that you added the link to the Pizza and Soda for the IDF webpage, as if you are throwing them a pizza party for the killing. It seems a little contradictory to me that you would be so opposed to the "child abuse" that you showed in your article, and yet celebrate the recent Israeli actions. Now, I'm not saying that I'm exactly saddened by what happened, but I have a hard time stomaching anyone who cheers on a murder--regardless of who, what, when, where or why. Also, as I've said, this move doesn't help Israel--all it does is make the job of the IDF even harder, as it makes more Palestinians determined to fight for their cause.

InfoGeek

on Apr 20, 2004

OK, let me play devil's advocate her:

Press conference:
Man A speaks: I am the new leader of Hamas. We will bury Israel (*BOOM*!!!!!!)

Press conference:
Man B speaks: I am the new leader of Hamas. We will (*BOOM*!!!!!!)

Press conference:
Person A: We are currently accepting applications for the new leader of Hamas.

Question: Would you accept a position knowing that you will probably be dead before the month is out? How long can an organization sustain itself w/o consistent and warm leadership?

IG

shadesofgrey

on Apr 20, 2004

Question: Would you accept a position knowing that you will probably be dead before the month is out? How long can an organization sustain itself w/o consistent and warm leadership?

Your analogy needs to be tweaked a little.

Man A speaks: I am the new leader of Hamas and I know I will die, at Allah's will, as a martyr by the brutal hands of Israel.

I mean, that's what he said, and then Israel proved it to be true--there will be no shortage of applicants for the position of martyr. A sad, but inescapable reallity.

Larry Kuperman

on Apr 20, 2004

A man is dead.

And we are not one iota closer to a peaceful settlement to the conflict. Do not exult in his death.

Read his biography at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2977816.stm
We can argue the necessity of the assassination. In fact I would be the first to do so. But remember that this was a human being, with many sides to him. This was a man who originally chose to be a pediatrician, a healer of sick children. But something happened that made him elect to join Hamas, in fact to be one of the founders of Hamas.

Rantissi opposed the peace process, spoke out against Abu Mazen's efforts. Rantissi favored suicide bombings, saying that such acts are not terrorism, but instead "They are a response to Israeli terrorism, individual and governmental, against Palestinian civilians." Statements such as this are what led to his being selected as a target.

Shadesofgrey is quite correct in stating that Rantissi saw himself as a potential martyr. Rantissi predicted his own death saying "I am not afraid. I am looking to be a martyr. Why? Because I believe that the last day for me is not in the hand of Sharon, but in the hand of Allah." And shadesofgrey is also correct that this will not be the last martyr.

I do not believe that Israel had any choice in the matter. Confronted by a suicide bombing directed by Rantissi as leader of Hamas, and with no moderate Palestinian leader capable of putting a stop to the terrorism, Israel reacted with force. Again, a necessity, but a grim one.

I will say again, if the US could locate Bin Laden and kill him with a missle, wouldn't we do so? Didn't we try to do just that to Saddam Huessin? It is an understandable response.

But make no mistake. Such actions must always be considered regrettable. When we cheer the death of any human being, even one who tries to harm us, we demean the human spirit.

shadesofgrey

on Apr 20, 2004

But make no mistake. Such actions must always be considered regrettable. When we cheer the death of any human being, even one who tries to harm us, we demean the human spirit.

You are much more eloquent at saying what I mean.

I will say again, if the US could locate Bin Laden and kill him with a missle, wouldn't we do so? Didn't we try to do just that to Saddam Huessin? It is an understandable response.

Surely, I think it's almost a gut reaction. But, I'll still contend that is far better to have Huessin alive, answering questions, explaining anomolies, and giving us clues, than it is to have him dead. The strike-back urge needs to be resisted. While the death may play into the need for revenge--putting Huessin, et al on trial will increase the sense that justice has been served. I'm basing this on the idea that the healing process focused on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa--the sense that the country could move forward was firmly planted in the idea that people had been held accountable for their actions. Killing Hussein, or bin Laden, or any other terrorist, let's them off easy--they don't have to be accountable or responsible for what they did. I'm not so naive as to think that these people will actually be remorseful--and that may be the key to success in Truth and Reconciliation--but I do think trials, at the Hague or elsewhere, will help stay the course of transitional justice and sustainable peacebuilding.

Larry Kuperman

on Apr 20, 2004

shadesofgrey said: "It would be interesting to see if we couldn't attempt to hammer out some sort of viable roadmap here on JoeUser--between OG San and myself, the Palestinian interests would be well represented, and I think that you do an excellent job of representing Israeli interest."

I would like very much to do that. If O G San would be willing to participate, I think that we could open a valuable dialog. Good for us and maybe it could accomplish something more. Hope springs eternal...

ChomskyLoveChild, I really do not know if "Kuperman, thanks for the erudition" was meant sincerely, but I choose to believe that it was. At JoeUser, we strive to have open and intelligent conversation. I have, upon occasion, disagreed with both O G San and shadesofgrey. In fact, fairly recently and in the heat of debate, I unthinkingly insulted my esteemed colleague shadesofgrey. I apologized and we have, as you can see, moved on. In that same spirit, let me invite you to continue debating here. Differing opinions are what make the world go round. Please feel free to continue to offer your point of view. And welcome to JU.

Shalom aleicheim, aleikum salaam.

shadesofgrey

on Apr 20, 2004

I haven't seen OG San around here recently--there are a couple of articles that I thought he would have had some comments on...

What is the best way to do this--start a new thread, or continue on this one? Should we work from the proposed Road Map and tweak it, or start fresh addressing each issue and formulating a compromised solution and then putting them together to form a complete plan?

Larry Kuperman

on Apr 20, 2004

I hope that OG San is off having a wonderful time somewhere.
Lets start a new thread. Give me one day to look into some technical details of how we might go about it. Look for a post tomorrow.
I think that the proposed roadmap gives us a good place to start. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/rls/22520.htm
shadesofgrey, thank you for the idea. I feel really energized about this!

shadesofgrey

on Apr 20, 2004

I eagerly await your post tomorrow...have a wonderful night!

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