Deputy Defense Minister Ze’ev Boim told IDF Radio on Friday that Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin is a "dead man", advising that he hide deep down in the ground, because if his location is found, he will be targeted by the IDF.
Boim’s statement came on the heels of calls by European Union officials that Israel not renew its targeted assassinations of terrorist leaders. EU officials stressed they remain opposed to such a policy. US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher reiterated that the United States opposes targeted killings.
The suicide bombing attack at the Erez Crossing in Gaza, which led to the military decision to renew targeted strikes against terrorist leaders, brought Islamic Jihad and Hamas supporters into the streets of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza on Saturday. Some marchers carried pictures of the wheelchair-bound Yassin, others donned the burial robes and vests symbolizing the suicide bombers and others, in masks, defiantly carried automatic weapons. Hamas spokesman- and one-time target - Abdel Aziz Rantisi was not in hiding, but turned up at the head of the procession.
Meanwhile, Israel has opened the Erez Crossing, closed since the bombing there last week, to Arab workers and merchants from the Palestinian Authority. Recent information from military sources indicate that the female suicide bomber may have been compelled to carry out her attack as a way to clear her family honor after she was accused of adultery. Her husband, the sources said, may have even transported her to Erez.
The terror war continues: Four mortar shells landed overnight near the Kissufim crossing in Gaza... Terrorists opened fire on IDF soldiers on the Karni-Netzarim road in Gaza... A rocket launcher and bomb were discovered and neutralized near Netzarim in Gaza... "Massive" rock-throwing attacks were reported today on the Gush Etzion-Hevron Road in the area of el-Aroub. There are reports of damage to several vehicles.... No injuries were reported in any of the incidents.
IDF forces destroyed two buildings in southern Gush Katif, near the community of Morag, as part of an ongoing effort to provide security on the community approach road. The buildings provided cover for terrorists carrying out attacks against Jewish motorists and IDF vehicles.
Boim’s statement came on the heels of calls by European Union officials that Israel not renew its targeted assassinations of terrorist leaders. EU officials stressed they remain opposed to such a policy. US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher reiterated that the United States opposes targeted killings.
The suicide bombing attack at the Erez Crossing in Gaza, which led to the military decision to renew targeted strikes against terrorist leaders, brought Islamic Jihad and Hamas supporters into the streets of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza on Saturday. Some marchers carried pictures of the wheelchair-bound Yassin, others donned the burial robes and vests symbolizing the suicide bombers and others, in masks, defiantly carried automatic weapons. Hamas spokesman- and one-time target - Abdel Aziz Rantisi was not in hiding, but turned up at the head of the procession.
Meanwhile, Israel has opened the Erez Crossing, closed since the bombing there last week, to Arab workers and merchants from the Palestinian Authority. Recent information from military sources indicate that the female suicide bomber may have been compelled to carry out her attack as a way to clear her family honor after she was accused of adultery. Her husband, the sources said, may have even transported her to Erez.
The terror war continues: Four mortar shells landed overnight near the Kissufim crossing in Gaza... Terrorists opened fire on IDF soldiers on the Karni-Netzarim road in Gaza... A rocket launcher and bomb were discovered and neutralized near Netzarim in Gaza... "Massive" rock-throwing attacks were reported today on the Gush Etzion-Hevron Road in the area of el-Aroub. There are reports of damage to several vehicles.... No injuries were reported in any of the incidents.
IDF forces destroyed two buildings in southern Gush Katif, near the community of Morag, as part of an ongoing effort to provide security on the community approach road. The buildings provided cover for terrorists carrying out attacks against Jewish motorists and IDF vehicles.