August 21, 2003
Israel killed a senior Hamas political leader in a missile strike Thursday, retaliating for a suicide bombing of a bus in which 20 people died including six children. The Islamic militant group threatened revenge and formally abandoned a truce declared eight weeks ago. Also, Israeli troops raided the West Bank towns of Nablus, Jenin and Tulkarem in search of militants. Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas warned that the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Abu Shanab would make it harder to crack down on militant groups. Under pressure from Washington and Israel, the Palestinian leadership had decided on a clampdown just hours before his death.
Mr. Abu Shanab was riding with two bodyguards in his gold-colored station wagon Thursday in Gaza City when five missiles fired from an Israeli helicopter hit the vehicle. The car burst into flames and three bodies were pulled from the wreckage. Fifteen bystanders were hurt. Dozens of Hamas supporters at the scene dunked their fists in blood, raised their hands and vowed revenge, chanting "God is great."
Israel has routinely targeted members of Hamas' military wing but rarely gone after the group's political leaders. Mr. Abu Shanab, a U.S.-educated professor of engineering, was the third member of Hamas' political wing to be killed in the past two years. Israel says the distinction between political and military leaders is insignificant, because both are involved in planning attacks. "There's no question that there is a direct link between the heads of Hamas and the terrorists on the ground," said Israeli Foreign Ministry official Gideon Meir, though he would not say explicitly that Israel killed Abu Shanab. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned that if the Palestinian Authority "does not take all the necessary steps in the war against terror, real and substantial steps, it will not be possible to advance on the diplomatic track."
Hamas formally called off a three-month truce it declared June 29. "We consider ourselves no longer bound by this ceasefire," said a Hamas leader, Ismail Hanieh, after identifying Mr. Abu Shanab's decapitated body at a Gaza City morgue. Hamas had carried out two suicide bombings despite the ceasefire, including the Jerusalem bus attack Tuesday that killed 20 people. The group had insisted these were limited retaliations for deadly Israeli raids and not violations of the truce. Mr. Abbas warned the missile strike would hamper the planned crackdown, saying, "This for sure will affect the whole process and the decision taken by the Palestinian Authority." Earlier Thursday, he met with a U.S. envoy, John Wolf, to discuss the authority's next moves.
Israel had suspended what it calls targeted killings and what the Palestinians call assassinations during the ceasefire. But the Israeli security Cabinet decided late Wednesday to renew the practice, in response to the Jerusalem bombing, the deadliest since the launch of a U.S.-backed peace plan three months ago. More than 100 people were wounded in the blast, including about 40 children. After taking office in April, Mr. Abbas had shied away from confrontation with Hamas, Islamic Jihad and armed renegades in his own Fatah movement, saying he feared civil war.
Pressure mounted after the Jerusalem bombing, however, with the United States demanding an immediate crackdown. "There's funding, there's support, there's munitions, there's organization, and all that needs to be taken apart," said U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. In a first step, Mr. Abbas ordered the arrest of all those directly involved in the bombing, and then asked his Cabinet for proposals on a wider clampdown. The ideas raised in the Cabinet meeting, including arrests, a gag order on Hamas and Islamic Jihad spokesmen, and the freezing of assets of militant groups, were taken to Yasser Arafat and top PLO officials for approval late Wednesday.
The meeting, which lasted until early Thursday, was at times stormy. Mr. Abbas had told his ministers earlier that he would resign if he did not get Mr. Arafat's full support for taking action against Hamas and Islamic Jihad, but it was not clear whether he made the threat in Mr. Arafat's presence. In the end, Mr. Abbas and Mr. Arafat agreed on a joint statement which said the Palestinian Authority would enforce the rule of law, take control of illegal weapons and end "military displays" by the militants, a reference to marches led by gunmen.
The Palestinian leadership statement did not refer to arrests, which would appear to be a cornerstone of any crackdown, but Palestinian officials said there would be detentions. "It's a campaign that even in the worst nightmares Hamas and Islamic Jihad never imagined," said Elias Zananiri, a spokesman for Palestinian security chief Mohammed Dahlan, speaking before the missile strike. "There's a list of people to be arrested."
The Israelis moved back into Palestinian areas after the bus bombing. Since the spring of 2002, when Israel reoccupied most of the West Bank, troops have been moving in and out of Palestinian towns repeatedly to arrest wanted men. The biggest operation was in the old city of Nablus, a militant stronghold where troops were looking for Hamas militants and Fatah renegades responsible for two bombings that killed two Israelis earlier this month.
Troops sealed off the old city with armored vehicles and barbed wire and ordered residents out of homes to search buildings. They arrested 14 Palestinians, including a Hamas member caught with a large quantity of explosives, the army and witnesses said. In the town of Tulkarem, Israeli undercover troops chasing two Fatah gunmen raided a pool hall, but the fugitives escaped. The soldiers opened fire during the chase, killing a 16-year-old bystander and wounding four, all under the age of 20, Palestinian security officials said. The Israeli military said there was a gunbattle.
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