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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ilaine who wrote (101283)	6/12/2003 2:33:21 PM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

>>Israeli army ordered to 'wipe out' Hamas Israeli army radio reports the army has been ordered to 'completely wipe out' the Palestinian Islamic militant group Hamas, a day after a suicide bomber killed 16 people on a Jerusalem bus. Israeli helicopters killed nine Palestinians in strikes on militants after the bombing, leaving the US-backed peace "roadmap" in tatters. Israeli Internal Security Minister Tzachi Hanegbi says no Hamas leader is safe. The army order, which directs the military to use "whatever means necessary," was issued following a meeting of Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz with the army's top command shortly after the attack. It is directed not only at the infrastructure of the organisation, but at its leadership, with everyone, "from the lowliest member to Sheikh Ahmad Yassin," a Hamas founder and its spiritual guide, as a legitimate target. The latest round of killings and retaliations began on Tuesday, when Israeli helicopter gunships fired missiles at the car of Hamas' political leader, Abdul Aziz Rantissi, in a failed bid to kill him. Mr Rantissi, who was lightly wounded in that attack, promised bloody revenge, which led to the bombing in Jerusalem. It was claimed by Hamas' armed wing, the Ezzedin al-Qassam Brigades. The Israeli Cabinet has met to consider how to respond to that attack, amid reports that ministers will again raise the question of expelling Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat from the territories. US response Watching his "roadmap" peace plan engulfed in a new round of killing, US President George W Bush condemned the Jerusalem bombing and called on "all the free world to not only condemn the killings but to use every ounce of their power to prevent them". But Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is unmoved. Mr Sharon's office issued a statement before the blast saying he has "made it clear that insofar as terror is concerned, there will be no concessions, adding that he has made this clear in all of his conversations with the White House and the US State Department". There were 16 people killed and more than 100 wounded when a Palestinian suicide bomber disguised as an ultra- Orthodox Jew blew himself up on a crowded bus in central Jerusalem during the afternoon rush hour. The blast tore through the bus near the city's main open-air market. Minutes later, Israeli helicopter gunships fired missiles at a car in Gaza City, killing two top Hamas militants and five bystanders. At around midnight local time, two more Hamas militants were killed in another helicopter missile strike. Palestinian condemnation For the first time the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his Prime Minister Abu Mazen have described the suicide attack as a terrorist operation, and called on all Palestinian militant factions to declare an immediate ceasefire. Mr Arafat has made his landmark comments live on television from his Ramallah compound, after one of the worst eruptions of violence in the Palestinian uprising which has left almost 40 people dead in four days. "I call for an immediate cessation of all forms of operations and shootings," he said. "The evil vicious circle of military operations from all parties must stop immediately." However Maen Erekat, an adviser to Abu Mazen, did not defend the bus bombing, but suggested it is Israel that is ultimately responsible. "We condemn all attacks against civilians," he said. "But you have to understand one thing, it was Israel who initiated the attacks yesterday at a time when the Palestinian Authority was on the verge of resuming dialogue with opposition groups to reach a ceasefire, and to reach for a calming down of the situation."<< abc.net.au