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Middle East
Israeli Missile Strike Kills Hamas Leader, Bodyguards
2003-08-21
EFL
Israeli militants killed a senior Hamas official and two of his bodyguards Thursday in a strike meant as retaliation for Tuesday’s deadly Jerusalem bus bombing. The targeted attack brought the already tenuous truce between Israeli and Palestinian groups perilously close to destruction.
Two reactions:
1. What truce?
2. If anything should be "perilously close to destruction," it should be Hamas.
An Israeli helicopter fired five missiles at a gold-colored station wagon in a crowded Gaza City neighborhood Thursday, killing Hamas senior official Ismail Abu Shanab and two of his bodyguards, the Islamic militant group said.
Hard kill, no collateral damage. Nice work.
A senior Hamas official on Thursday declared the cease-fire previously agreed upon between militant groups dead.
I say again, what truce?
"We consider ourselves free from this make-believe cease-fire," said Hamas official Ibrahim Haniyeh. "The assassination of Abu Shanab ... means that I need new underwear the Zionist enemy has assassinated the truce and the Hamas movement holds the Zionist enemy fully responsible for the consequences of its crime," Ismail al-Haniyah told reporters in Gaza. The three-month unilateral cease-fire was declared June 29. Hamas, vowing retaliation for Thursday’s attack, just two days earlier carried out a homicide bombing in Jerusalem, killing 20 people, but insisted at the time it was still observing the truce.
This must be some bold new definition of "observing the truce" that was previously unknown to the civilized world.
Posted by:Mike

#7  Mike - seems that was either AP bias (they contributed on the story) or a FU. It was corrected
Posted by: Frank G   2003-8-21 9:51:38 PM  

#6  Little Green Footballs notes that the Fox story refers to the IDF as "Israeli militants" instead of "military."

That one sailed right past me!
Posted by: Mike   2003-8-21 2:09:52 PM  

#5  Looks like SplodeyDope City. Too bad.
Posted by: TJ   2003-8-21 12:57:39 PM  

#4  From the Fox story is this jewel:
"Who was the [Israeli] fool who took this decision?" a Palestinian source told Fox News. "We [the Palestinians] were at the final stages of preparing a massive operation against these brutes," but the assassination destroyed Palestinian efforts to police themselves, he added.

Yup. We were this close and you went and fucked it up. Uh, huh, Right.

I nominate "We were this close!" for the Paleo group headstone. True enough - Just about 3 years ago, Sept 2000, they had the world eating out of their hands. Then they started the intifada. This time? Nawwww. The only thing that was close was the rocket that missed RantSissy.

Notice that none of the quotes come from him? Betcha he's holed up in his bestest safehouse and damned few people know where that is. C'mon, man, come on out and play, this is what you wanted, come and get some of it.
Posted by: .com   2003-8-21 12:40:03 PM  

#3  There goes the road map. The WOT futures predicted 3 months. Looks like it will be less than that.
Posted by: Raphael   2003-8-21 9:57:09 AM  

#2  I love this shit: "perilously close" - isn't that just precious?

Okay. Enough of that phoolishness: being forced to hold vewy vewy still while the other guys never quit shooting.

Deport Tool-Phools™. Revoke credentials of the biased Press outlets. Total Paleo Lockdown. Do The BIG Wall™. Heap ridicule on anyone who says there ever was or ever will be a truce or peace as long as there is a PA, or Hamas, or Hezbollah, or Al Aqsa, et al.
Posted by: .com   2003-8-21 9:35:19 AM  

#1  Beat me by that much.
Posted by: Steve   2003-8-21 9:18:45 AM  

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