The Ottawa Citizen
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
Whether yesterday's assassination of Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin was a good thing depends on the answer to two questions: 1) Is the world better off without Sheik Yassin? and 2) Was it in Israel's strategic interest to kill him? In both cases, the answer is yes.
Ahmed Yassin was among the most brazen killers that the modern Middle East has produced, which is quite an achievement when you look at the competition. His hands were stained with the blood of hundreds, and we aren't referring only to Israeli civilians who died in the Palestinian terror attacks he supervised. We're also thinking of the Palestinian children whom he taught to believe that death is preferable to life and that a good Muslim is one who immolates himself in a pizzeria or a discotheque.
In interviews, you could see the old man take lascivious delight in the blood of his followers -- followers such as Reem Riyashi, a Palestinian who blew herself up in January, leaving her two children motherless. "I always wanted to be the first woman to carry out a martyrdom operation, where parts of my body can fly all over," she said in a videotaped message. Shortly after, Mr. Yassin ghoulishly confirmed that Hamas was now recruiting female bombers.
Clearly, the world is better off without Mr. Yassin. But should Israel have been the one to provide that service? The usual suspects, from Amnesty International to Canada's Foreign Minister Bill Graham, have condemned Israel for carrying out an "extra-judicial killing." Meanwhile, the Arab street is inflamed. In the best of times it's easy to find crowds chanting "Death to the Jews," but in Gaza some 200,000 took to the street. Could it be that the benefits of eliminating Mr. Yassin are outweighed by the costs, such as renewed terrorism and international criticism?
We don't think so. Killing Mr. Yassin hasn't made Israel more vulnerable to attack. For Hamas, the fact of Israel's existence was always sufficient motive. When Israel elects left-wing governments, Hamas sees it as a sign of weakness and calls for more martyrs. When Israel elects hawkish governments, Hamas sees it as provocation and calls for more martyrs.
The same applies to international opinion. In many quarters, dislike of Israel seems unconnected to any particular policy the Jewish state undertakes. In the 1980s, Israel was condemned for refusing to accept a two-state solution. In the 1990s, after accepting in principle a two-state solution, Israel was condemned for not acquiescing to national suicide and allowing Palestinian refugees to flood Israel proper. Israelis learned long ago that showing restraint in the face of terrorism earns them no favour, either with the United Nations or with the terrorists.
And so they decided to take the fight to Mr. Yassin directly. "Whoever is involved in the planning, orchestration, execution or leadership of terrorism must understand that Israel will not sit idly by and wait for the next suicide bomber to appear on the streets of Jerusalem or Tel Aviv," said the Israeli Foreign Ministry yesterday. It's hard to argue with that.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2004 |
