DEATH IN GAZA
New York Times, 3/23/04
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/23/opinion/23TUE2.html
The Israeli military's killing of Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the spiritual leader
of the militant Palestinian group Hamas, is one of those pivotal events
around which passions and hatreds coalesce. The Israeli government will
defend the killing, while Palestinians plot revenge. It's always so. But
the Bush administration must resist the temptation to simply issue a mild
rebuke and call for restraint - it needs to do more.
Hamas has never accepted peace with Israel, and while Sheik Yassin was the
group's spiritual leader, Israel accused him of responsibility for numerous
terrorist attacks. Still, it's hard to see how his martyrdom will make
Israel any safer. Hamas will now redouble its efforts to send human
torpedos into Israel. The Palestinian Authority will be even less inclined
to confront terrorists in its midst and less able to coax Hamas into
observing a cease-fire. Moderate Arabs everywhere have been reacting with
dismay and despair to Sheik Yassin's killing. The U.S. war on terrorism may
also suffer as moderate Arab leaders feel compelled to distance themselves
further from Washington.
One of Israel's most firmly held policies has always been that as a small
Jewish state, it can never appear weak and must never shy away from hitting
its enemies, no matter how politically inopportune this may be. Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon is perhaps the most inflexible Israeli advocate of
the policy of an unflinching fist, but it has also been embraced by the
most dovish of Israeli leaders.
Ultimately, any argument that the assassination was "worth it" is
undermined by the fact that both sides will sink deeper into their separate
passions. The hard, tragic truth is that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
is locked in a cycle of violence in which assassinations, suicide bombings
and mutual demonization seem destined only to grow, feeding the sense of
victimhood that is consuming both the Jewish state and any future
Palestinian state...
ALSO SEE:
MR. SHARON'S SOLUTION
Washington Post, 3/22/04
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16439-2004Mar22.html
ISRAEL'S ASSASSINATION of the founder and senior leader of Hamas, Sheik
Ahmed Yassin, is part of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's attempt to radically
reshape the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- an initiative that is looking
as reckless as it is bold. Mr. Sharon's intention is to scrap a decade of
the "peace process" aimed at a negotiated permanent settlement between
Israelis and Palestinians, and instead to impose a "long-term interim"
solution in which Israel would retreat behind a fortified border of its own
choosing. That would involve an evacuation of Israelis from most or all of
the Gaza Strip, and Mr. Sharon has recently faced objections that such a
withdrawal could leave Hamas in charge, or at least allow the extremist
Islamic movement to boast that its suicide bombings had driven Israel out.
With the killing of Sheik Yassin, an operation he supervised personally,
Mr. Sharon probably hoped to neutralize these problems even while
eliminating one of Israel's most implacable enemies.
Though he was wheelchair-bound and nearly blind, Sheik Yassin rightly could
be held responsible for a campaign of terrorism that has killed 377
Israelis and wounded more than 2,000 in the past 31/2 years alone. But even
in the short term -- Mr. Sharon's usual focus -- the strike against him was
risky. The storm of outrage among Palestinians yesterday will almost
certainly be followed by an all-out effort by Hamas, and possibly other
groups, to kill Israelis; history suggests that some suicide bombers will
get through. Egypt and other Arab states may abandon efforts to build up
Palestinian security forces and encourage a crackdown on terrorist groups,
at least in the short term. Hamas may end up strengthening its position in
Gaza, where Sheik Yassin now will be revered as a martyr...
---
ISRAELIS PROMULGATE EXTRAJUDICIAL MURDER AND THE U.S. LOOKS ON
Sherri Muzher, Reuters, 3/23/04
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/8252178.htm
(Sherri Muzher is a media analyst in Mason, Mich.)
As an American of Palestinian descent and Christian faith, I never cared
much for the ultimate goal of Hamas: to establish a religious state in
Palestine.
But I find myself angered and baffled at Israel's decision to assassinate
Hamas founder and spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.
What is even more baffling is the U.S. response, especially since its close
ally, Ariel Sharon, personally commanded this extrajudicial killing.
National security adviser Condoleezza Rice said on NBC's Today that "it is
very important that everyone step back now and try now to be calm in the
region. There is always a possibility of a better day in the Middle East,
and some of the things being talked about by the Israelis... might provide
new opportunities."
So the good ideas will come from Israel, which just assassinated Yassin? I
read that as implying that if Palestinians react, they will be held
responsible for any fallout. Unbelievable.
One thing is certain about the killing of the blind and quadriplegic
Yassin: A peace agreement that once seemed unlikely now seems unreachable
in the near future. Sharon is not stupid; his government expects
retaliation. And the Israeli Defense Force will use that retaliation as an
excuse to kill more Palestinians. It is a script that has played itself out
for the last 31/2 years...
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Posted by shereen at March 23, 2004 09:20 PM