Israeli air strike kills Hamas leaderMilitant group threatens retaliation against Sharon and over US 'consent'By Ibrahim Barzak, AP
22 March 2004

Israel killed Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin in a helicopter missile strike outside a Gaza City mosque today, prompting threats of unprecedented revenge by Palestinian militants against Israel and the United States.

Yassin was the most prominent Palestinian leader to be killed by Israel, and his assassination was seen as a major escalation in more than three years of fighting.

In a spontaneous outpouring of rage and grief, tens of thousands of Palestinians poured into the streets of Gaza City after hearing of Yassin's death. A cloud of black smoke hung over Gaza City, as angry mourners burned tyres.

"Words cannot describe the emotion of anger and hate inside our hearts," said Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh, a close associate of Yassin.

The United States urged both sides to show restraint.

Israeli helicopters fired three missile as the wheelchair-bound Yassin, his bodyguards and other worshippers left a neighborhood mosque. Yassin and seven others were killed, including several bodyguards. Seventeen people were wounded.

"His wheelchair was twisted. Two or three people were lying next to him on the ground," said taxi driver Yousef Haddad, who had rushed out of a nearby grocery when the missiles shook the Sabra neighbourhood.

Two more Palestinians were killed in Gaza later today, one while handling explosives and the second by Israeli army fire, during a protest against the Yassin killing, Palestinian hospital officials said.

Israel said it held Yassin responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a former army general, was updated throughout the operation, security officials said.

The Yassin assassination was seen as an enormous gamble by Sharon, who is trying to score a decisive victory against Hamas ahead of a possible Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, but risks triggering a dramatic escalation in bloodshed that could turn the popular mood in Israel against him.

Gideon Meir, an Israeli Foreign Ministry official, said Israel held Yassin directly responsible for the scores of suicide attacks Hamas unleashed since 2000. "He is the one who is sending children and women to explode themselves," Meir said.

The Palestinian Authority said in a statement that "Israel has exceeded all red lines with this cheap and dirty crime," and declared a three-day mourning period.

In a statement faxed to The Associated Press, Hamas said: "The Zionists didn't carry out their operation without getting the consent of the terrorist American Administration, and it must take responsibility for this crime.

"All the Muslims of the world will be honoured to join in on the retaliation for this crime."

Flags at Yasser Arafat's headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah were lowered to half-mast, and the Palestinian Cabinet was to hold an emergency session. Yassin was Arafat's biggest political rival, but Arafat has always been careful not to confront the Hamas leader openly.

Fearing revenge attacks, Israel clamped a closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, barring all Palestinians from entering Israel. Most West Bank Palestinians were confined to their communities.

The army chief, Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon, met with army commanders in Tel Aviv to discuss the possible fallout, and more forces were ordered to the Gaza Strip.

Hamas promised a harsh response.

"Yassin is a man in a nation, and a nation in a man. And the retaliation of this nation will be of the size of this man," said Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a prominent Hamas leader in Gaza who himself escaped an Israeli assassination attempt last June.

For the first time, Hamas also threatened the United States, saying America's backing of Israel made the assassination possible. "All the Muslims of the world will be honored to join in on the retaliation for this crime," Hamas said in a statement.

In the past, Hamas leaders have insisted their struggle is against Israel and that they would not get involved in causes by militant Muslims in other parts of the world. Monday's statement suggested that Hamas might seek outside help in carrying out revenge attacks, since its capabilities have been limited by Israeli military strikes.

The militant groups Islamic Jihad and Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, sometimes at odds with Hamas, also promised revenge.

"This crime has affected every Palestinian, and the retaliation for it will be from every Palestinian," said Abu Qusay, an Al Aqsa leader in Gaza. An Al Aqsa statement said retaliation "will be in the coming hours, God willing."

In a first response, Palestinian militants fired 10 home-made rockets toward an Israeli settlement in Gaza. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Israel had previously tried to kill Yassin in September when a warplane dropped a bomb on a building where he and other Hamas leaders were meeting, but Yassin escaped with just a small wound to his hand. One Israeli official recently said Yassin, a Hamas founder, was "marked for death."

On Sunday, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told the Israeli Cabinet that the army was planning a series of measures to strike hard at Hamas.

Despite Israeli threats against him, Yassin never changed his routine.

Every morning, he would attend pre-dawn prayers at the local mosque in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City. On Monday, he did the same, being wheeled to the house of prayer by bodyguards. As he emerged at around 5.30am local time, three Israeli missiles hit.

Announcing Yassin's death over mosque loudspeakers, the Hamas leadership said, "Sharon has opened the gates of hell. and nothing will stop us from cutting off his head."

In Washington, State Department spokesman Lou Fintor said officials were in touch with Israeli and Palestinian authorities. "The United States urges all sides to remain calm and exercise restraint," he said.

Yassin, a quadriplegic, founded Hamas in 1987. He was held in Israeli prisons for several years before being released in 1994.

He lived in a modest house. Though he was limited in his movements, and Israel blamed him for inspiring Hamas bombers and attackers who killed hundreds of Israelis, Israeli governments had until now refrained from targeting him, fearing a firestorm of revenge attacks.

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