Israel targets Hamas cleric for 'liquidation'

[DuctapeFatwa]

Israeli army chief General Moshe Yaalon says that Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, founder of the Palestinian radical Islamic movement Hamas, is a target for assassination.

"For us, Sheikh Yassin is a target for liquidation, given that there is no distinction to be made between the political and military leadership of Hamas," he told Israel's Channel 2 television.

"The question of the legitimacy of such an operation is behind us. What matters now is the opportunity and our interest," said the general.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1028269.htm

NOTE: This is NOT a duplicate of a previous story about the Deputy Foreign Minister saying that Israel would kill Sheik Yassin.

As the story indicates, Moshe Yaalon is the current head of the Israeli Army.

[Rick Myers]

1. There's a phrase I thought I'd only ever read in a history book....

"Target for liquidation!" Wow!

:wtf:

[Gimel]

2. True, it was said

Is that a big deal? Is that surprising? Yassin publicly spoke about allowing the young woman to fulfill her mission as a suicide bomber. Although he later denied it, his authority on this is undeniable. He personally approves of the genocidal attacks on Israelis and other civilians.

[AliceWonderland]

3. Why, now that you mention it,

I do find the phrase "liquidation" a big deal, no matter who uses it and in what context. And I believe in the principle of punishment for crimes under the due process of law, not assassination, no matter who is involved or what the context.

[Gimel]

4. No doubt

He used a term in Hebrew, or maybe it was posed to him in phrased as such. So don't let it hang you up.

Due process has already been conducted. He was released from prison on humanitarian grounds. If you live in a nice logical world, things are done logically. Some don't have that option.

[AliceWonderland]

7. Oh, I do believe I shall

let it hang me up. I'm fairly comfortable getting hung up it, now that I reflect on the matter. But thanks for offering me the option.

I was under the distinct impression that I lived in a nasty, messy world, and as such, the best way to escape various dogmas and screeds was to appeal to standards apart from the dogma/screeed. But hey. Don't let that hang you up.

[DuctapeFatwa]

9. On the plus side, Yaalon made no mention of plans to liquidate

the Prime Minister of Sweden. Granted, he could just be saving that one for his next interview.

[Muddleoftheroad]

13. The prime minister of Sweden

Is not a terrorist, at least as far as I can tell. Yassin is. Israel tried the lock-'em-up method. That didn't work. He poses a daily threat to the lives of Israelis.

There is a way to handle such threats.

[DuctapeFatwa]

6. The source for Yassin saying that was "IDF sources"

To the best of my knowledge, Sheik Yassin is not at this time serving as the active head of the official army of a country with a seat in the United Nations, nor does Sheik Yassin speak for the Palestinian Authority, nor is his organization funded by US tax dollars.

Mr. Yaalon, on the other hand, does hold an official position, the source for this report is not "unnamed Fateh sources," but Yaalon himself, on TV, and if he does not speak for the Israeli government, I am sure that we would have heard about it within minutes.

[Gimel]

10. "IDF" sources

Well, you can count all of the ME, or probably the world as witness. Yassin was seen on Israel TV explaining his decision. He speaks in Arabic, which many Israelis understand, and subtitles in Hebrew. Translators are available.

I never claimed that Yassin was anything other than the head of a terrorist organization. I never said that Ya'alon is not the IDF Chief of Staff. His word can be considered good.

Comparing it to an assassination threat directed toward the representative of a democratic government, is off-base.

[DuctapeFatwa]

15. One of the risks of abandoning the rule of law

is that there is likely to be a marked decrease in those who consider you a "democratic government."

apparently it is one of those terms whose definition is in transition.

I did not see Yassin's TV appearance that you mention, and it seems to have gone unnoticed by the same international press that watched Mr. Yaalon's interview.

Personally, I think that murdering either Sharon or Yassin would do little to effect a peaceful resolution, and the lack of mutual friendly sentiments evidenced in the wake of the murders of long lists of other individuals by both sides would seem to bear me out.

[bemildred]

8. It is more stupid threats being made.

If they are going to kill him, they should shut up and
get on with it. If they are not, they should shut up about it.
So in either case they should shut up. It's not like they
don't know where he lives.

[Gimel]

12. I agree

He did escape one assassination attempt about two months ago.

[bemildred]

5. I guess he's the replacement for Arafat.

Remember all the threats to kill Arafat?
What the heck is up with Arafat these days, anyway?

[Gimel]

11. He also praised the bomber

His words echoed that of Yassin. Arafat will consider no replacement.

[Gimel]

14. Additional info on Yassin

For those who are interested:

<snip>
Ya'alon's comments came as Yassin announced a major change in tactics, saying the Islamic terrorist group would increasingly dispatch female suicide bombers in a "new beginning" for Palestinian women.

Yassin said jihad "is an obligation of all Muslims, men and women." He added that women had been excluded from carrying out suicide bombings only because there had never been a need for them.

"Women were spared until the time of need arose," Yassin said. "When the brothers in the military wing saw that the time was right to carry out an operation using a woman, they sent Reem Rayashi."
<snip>

But Ya'alon said Yassin was not only participating in guiding the terrorist strategy of Hamas, but was "personally involved" in approving the Erez suicide attack. He confirmed that the IDF believes that Yassin was directly involved, because he gave the religious approval for bombing, without which it would not have taken place.

"We have to take care of the leadership of this terrorist organization," Ya'alon said, but added the media was not the place to elaborate on this matter.

While the other two main Palestinian militant groups – al-Aksa Martyrs' Brigades and Islamic Jihad – have used women bombers, Hamas had refused, claiming it turned away lines of female volunteers.

Over the past 39 months, more than 400 Israelis have been killed in 108 Palestinian suicide bombings. Seven of the bombers were women, though none before Rayashi was married or mothers.

<snip>

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1074485522123