Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : DON'T START THE WAR -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: PartyTime who wrote (17685)	3/8/2003 2:05:13 PM
From: Augustus Gloop	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 25898

The world has one less sh!tbag to deal with Israeli Choppers Kill Top Hamas Leader 2 hours, 39 minutes ago By IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writer GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israeli helicopters destroyed a car with missiles on Saturday, killing a Hamas leader and three of his bodyguards. The strike came a day after the militant group claimed responsibility for two deadly attacks that killed 16 Israelis. The apparent target of Saturday's strike was Ibrahim Makadmeh, 51, who is accused of engineering attacks that killed 28 Israelis. The last was the tank bombing that killed four soldiers in Gaza last month. He was the highest-ranking Palestinian militant leader killed since Israeli forces killed Abu Ali Mustafa of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in August of 2001. Mustafa's death prompted the assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi in a Jerusalem hotel on Oct. 17, which in turn sparked Israel's occupation of the West Bank. Hamas vowed to avenge Makadmeh, saying no Israeli was safe. "We encourage our cells to plan and prepare strikes against the occupiers ... especially Jewish political leaders," the group's military wing said in a statement. "The terrorist government will realize the size of the disaster that it has unleashed." As the Israeli army promised more strikes against militants, Saeb Erekat, a Palestinian Cabinet official, criticized the air strike and said there is no longer due process in Israel. "This is more like the mafia than the government," Erekat said. Saturday's strike came amid escalating tensions, as a new hardline Israeli government reoccupied parts of the Gaza Strip (news - web sites) on Friday. Thousands of mourners, firing assault rifles into the air and shouting 'God is great!' packed the streets of Gaza City for Makadmeh's funeral. His body was draped in the green flag of Hamas. Meanwhile, embattled Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) on Saturday asked the PLO's Central Council to approve the first Palestinian prime minister — a move that international mediators have demanded. "I want the international community to know that the Israeli occupation is the biggest obstacle standing in front of our reform process," Arafat said at the council meeting. The council is expected to approve the new post on Monday. Palestinian legislators will then decide how much power the prime minister will have. Arafat offered the job to deputy PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas, a longtime advocate of peace with Israel. Abbas has said he will decide once the powers of the post are spelled out. Army radio reported that Arafat agreed in a meeting with Abbas Friday night that Abbas would have the power to shape the new government. Meanwhile, Palestinian leaders said Saturday that 14 of the 120 council members were prevented from attending the meeting in Ramallah, the site of Arafat's crumbled compound, which has been all but destroyed by Israel. In the past, Israel has prevented some Palestinian leaders from attending meetings in Ramallah, accusing some of the officials of sponsoring terrorism. In Washington, State Department press officer Brenda Greenberg said the United States looks forward to working with "an empowered and credible prime minister" who will lead the Palestinians toward the creation of a "viable and independent Palestine." The radical Damascus, Syria-based Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, however, said the creation of a Palestinian prime minister will not lead to reform within the territories. Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) ushered in a new government that promised stepped-up raids against militants and settlement development. That threat was followed by a suicide bus bombing on Wednesday that killed 14 Israelis and one American in the northern city of Haifa, and an attack Friday that killed a husband and wife in a Jewish settlement. Hamas claimed responsibility for both. It appeared Israeli troops were digging in for the long haul in parts of Gaza, considered a Hamas stronghold. Soldiers have conducted two weeks of raids against militants there, leaving more than 40 dead, at least 10 of them civilians. The residential street where Saturday's missile strike occurred was pocked with huge craters from the missiles. Personal belongings, including ID cards and shoes, were scattered in the street. "I was about to open my shop when suddenly a helicopter came from the sky," said Abdullah Ali, 60, a grocery shop owner who was covered with blood from the strike. "I saw legs and hands fly in the air and then suddenly I fell down on the ground." The elusive Makadmeh had kept a low profile after being released in 1998 by Palestinian Authority (news - web sites) officials. Before that, he had spent several years in Israeli jails. Last week, Israeli forces captured Mohammed Taha, 65, a co-founder of the Hamas movement, and his son Ayman, linked to the top Hamas bomb maker. On Friday, Israeli soldiers backed by about 100 tanks surrounded Palestinian houses, set up military posts in abandoned buildings and dug trenches in a northern chunk of Gaza. The army said it was trying to prevent Palestinians from firing rockets at Israeli border towns. The army said it would stay there indefinitely, making it the most significant seizure Gaza land in 29 months of fighting. It was also the first reoccupation of Gaza land that was handed over to the Palestinians under the 1993 Oslo peace accords.