Crowds of Iraqis infuriated by the occupation of their country... as well as the Israeli assassination of Palestinian leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, attacked British occupation troops in broad daylight in the city of Basra, Iraq, March 22nd. British troops are shown covered in flames from a petrol bomb thrown during the violent protest. According to witnesses and Iraqi police at the site, 2 Iraqi police officers and at least 2 British troops were injured in the disturbance, which occurred in front of central Basra's Ashar police station. Later an explosion injured 13 of the British troops but caused no fatalities. (REUTERS/Atef Hassan)

Blood on their hands

Anas Altikriti

Tuesday March 23, 2004

The Guardian

The three rocket missiles that were fired yesterday from a US-supplied Israeli helicopter at the break of day, on a procession of 15 Palestinians returning home after dawn prayers in a nearby mosque, may have brought to an end any prospect of peace in the Middle East.

At the centre of the group of worshippers was no ordinary individual. Ahmed Yassin was neither ordinary in his physical appearance, nor in his stature at the heart of a conflict at the root of global problems over the past five decades.

A 67-year-old quadriplegic, paralysed from the neck downwards and suffering from serious ailments, including severe visual and hearing disabilities, Sheikh Yassin was considered by some to be Israel's worst nightmare. But for millions of Muslims all over the world, he was seen not only as the founder of Hamas, but as the spiritual father of the latest phase of Palestinian armed struggle for freedom, liberation and the reclamation of their occupied homeland. It was also Yassin who insisted that his people's struggle must remain within the boundaries of Palestine, and continuously offered Israel the chance of a truce, which was repeatedly turned down.

On Monday March 22 the Israeli forces were issued with a direct order from the highest level to target and kill this man in his wheelchair. The aims of this mission may seem obscure to some, but to many they are cynically cold-blooded and foolish.

If the Israeli prime minister and his cabinet thought that eliminating Ahmed Yassin would bring closer the chance of peace and resolution to a conflict that has brought unspoken misery and bloodshed, then it is a government suffering from serious self-delusion.

Already Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the al-Aqsa Brigades and other Palestinian armed groups have pledged to fight an open war against Israel, and, in the process, to stop at no boundary and to shy away from no target. One can only expect more bloodshed and an escalation of the cycle of violence that will scupper any prospect of a settlement within the foreseeable future.

The foreign secretary's statement yesterday denouncing the Israeli attack - as well as the French government's similar response - was welcomed by Muslims in Britain and throughout the world. But these responses also raise the question of where Europe truly stands on Israeli killings in the occupied territories and the Palestinians' right to resist.

Only last year, the European Union decided to proscribe Hamas - under pressure from the British government - condemning it as a terrorist organisation and thereby effectively granting Israel a license to kill at will. And that is what it has been doing ever since. But this latest prize is likely to be one that will haunt not only Israel, but also those who have one way or another encouraged Sharon's "hunting season". In the eyes of Muslims and all those horrified by recent events, Jack Straw and his counterparts across Europe have blood on their hands.

In an attempt to legitimise its actions, Israel has invoked a language calculated to go down well with the global powers-that-be, such as "terrorists", "war on terror" and "the Palestinian al-Qaida". In the midst of all the blood and suffering, the world has managed to offer carte blanche to a government in breach of numerous UN resolutions, to kill citizens whose lands it occupies. And while we condemn without question a suicide attack carried out by a lone Palestinian youngster, we accept the legality and even applaud the courage of a soldier armed to the teeth, firing rocket missiles unto densely populated residential areas from hundreds of feet up in the sky.

The Muslim community in Britain, together with Muslims worldwide, criticised the US-made "war on terror", not because they somehow condoned or welcomed terrorism. They do not. But at the heart of this staged and false campaign is a grave and dangerous principle. It is the principle that terrorism and bloodshed unleashed by states and elected leaders is somehow excusable and acceptable. It is the principle that might is right, and whoever holds the gun must be the bearer of truth.

If ever an example of state terrorism was called for, Israel unequivocally fits the bill. But the world's standards continue to be overturned and transformed. As a result, nations linger under occupation, innocent women and children die, and the future of us all is bleaker than ever before.

The murder of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin is a turning point in the history of the struggle of a people. Alas, it is not a turning point that brings promise or hope.

· Anas Altikriti is president of the Muslim Association of Britain.

Terrorists like Yassin should be hunted down and killed like the rabid dogs they are.

Congratulations to Israel for a major accomplishment in the war against terror. The Yassin stain has been removed from planet earth. I applaud Israel's actions.

Had we put 100,000 troops into the original war, the only one sanctioned by the world at large and the vast majority of Americans, we would have done much more to catch the leaders of Al Qaidia, learned of their network of operatives and alliances, and brought stability to the country outside of a small region around the capital, Kabul.

But Bush didn't do this. He didn't make Al Qaida priority #1 our or national security. Instead he decided to play General and start a diversionary war in Iraq that will do nothing to weaken Al Qaidia -- in fact it has only done the opposite.

To put it another way, don't whack the hornet's nest unless you're prepared to deal with the hornets. Bush whacked the hornet's nest and then for some damn fool reason decided to start chasing the gopher instead.

Is it any wonder he's getting stung all over? Idiot!

Bush did put Al Queda #1 doofus.

We invaded Afghanistan right after 9/11 doofus. Don't you read the news?

Iraq was the number 2 target.

GWB followed the right sequence there.

Onward to Damascus and Tehran (hopefully soon).

BA

bushblower: "Bush did put Al Queda #1 doofus."

Really??? So how was da shrub telling his people to fabricate an connection between Iraq and 9-11 putting al Queda number one? And where is that pesky Osama dude, anyway?

"Doofus"??...whaddaya...six? Or is that hip lingo for adult idiots in Texas (pardon the redundancy).

At no time did Clinton fight evil. Bush Sr. stopped well short of the mark. W. had no choice but to begin correcting the fuckups of the other two.

Syria, Iran, Pale-shit-stain, all the same. Savages stuck in the Stone Age can either begin the slow road to civilization or they can burn in a cloud of fire.

Al-Gaydar will be killed to the last turban. Count on it.

"At no time did Clinton fight evil."

...obviously reads too many comic books...

...you really are an idiot, aren't you?