Mofaz: Hamas PM could be Israeli target (AP) Updated: 2006-03-07 16:58
Israel's defense minister said Tuesday that the Islamic militant Hamas
group's prime minister-designate, Ismail Haniyeh, is not immune from an Israeli
targeted killing.
Israeli Defense
Minister Shaul Mofaz, center, walks ahead to his meeting with US Assistant
Secretary of State David Welch, not seen, in Jerusalem Sunday Feb. 26
2006. The United States will continue sending humanitarian aid to the
Palestinian people even after a Hamas government is formed, Welch told
Palestinian leaders during the first high-level meeting between the two
sides since Hamas' election victory.
[AP] | Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told
Israel's Army Radio that Israel's policy of pinpointed killings has proven to be
effective, and will continue.
"There is no question about its efficacy," Mofaz said. "Look what happened to
Hamas in the years it conducted an untrammeled suicide bombing war against us.
When we started the targeted killings, the situation changed."
"We will continue the targeted killings at this pace," he added. "No one will
be immune."
Hamas, the militant Islamic group sworn to Israel's destruction, swept
January parliamentary elections and is in the process of forming a Cabinet. It
has rejected international calls to renounce its violent and anti-Israel
ideology, but has maintained a year-old moratorium on suicide bombings.
Asked if Hamas' prime minister-designate would be a target if Hamas were to
resume its attacks on Israel, Mofaz responded: "If Hamas, a terror organization
that doesn't recognize agreements with us and isn't willing to renounce
violence, presents us with the challenge of having to confront a terror
organization, then no one there will be immune. Not just Ismail Haniyeh. No one
will be immune."
Salah al-Bardawil, a Hamas spokesman, denounced Mofaz's comments.
"This statement and Israeli practices on the ground reflect the bloody,
inhumane and inflammatory character of the Zionist enemy," al-Bardawil said. "We
are not seeking immunity or mercy from Israel. We are in a confrontation. The
side that is most steadfast is the side that will survive."
On Monday, two Islamic Jihad militants and three Palestinian bystanders were
killed in an Israeli pinpoint attack in Gaza City. Two of those killed were
children.
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