Bay Area Jews Condemn Israeli Killing of Hamas Leader

A MEDIA ADVISORY
From: JEWS FOR A FREE PALESTINE For more information, contact: reouncealiyah [at] yahoo.com

Bay Area Jews Condemn Israeli Killing of Hamas Leader
Local Jewish Activists Call for International Courts to Investigate Extrajudicial Killing


A Bay Area Jewish group, Jews for a Free Palestine, is calling on the international community to investigate and prosecute the Israeli government for the illegal killing of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Yassin was killed at dawn today as he left the mosque, where he was attending the morning prayer, near his home in Gaza city. It is believed seven other worshippers were also killed when Israel Air Force helicopters fired several missiles at a car carrying the wheelchair-bound head of the Islamic group.

“This act of violence against a civilian population underlines Israel’s disregard for international and humanitarian law and undermines any confidence in Israeli proclaimed aspirations for peace”, said Dr. Susan Greene, a JFFP member. “Yet again, the path to peace has been blocked by Israeli provocations.”

The Jewish activists are calling upon the international community and courts to investigate the killing of Yassin and prosecute those responsible for what they refer to as an “extrajudicial assassination.”

The policy of extra judicial targeted assassinations, officially adopted by the Israeli government, has so far served only to increase tensions in the region and create more casualties among Palestinian civilians. According to an Israeli women’s peace organization, Bat Shalom, since September 2000, at least 326 Palestinians have been killed in assassination attacks. The peace group documents that 160 of those killed were innocent bystanders, including 25 women and 36 children (http://www.batshalom.org).

“The apache helicopters and the missiles that killed Yasin and the other worshippers were made in the U.S.A,” said M.C. Ettinger, a JFFP member from San Francisco, “The U.S. gives billions of dollars to Israel, so the responsibility for ending Israeli terror belongs to the American people. And because this violence is carried out under the false pretense of protecting the Jewish people, Jewish Americans have a double responsibility to speak out against it.”

“We condemn the killing of civilians and the use of airstrikes against civilian populations. This was a brutal, illegal and cowardly act,” said Samantha Liapes, a Jews for a Free Palestine member. “How could an elderly paraplegic man in a wheelchair constitute a threat to one of the biggest military powers in the world. The Bush Administration’s ‘no comment’ about this killing carried out with American weapons and American aid might as well be a vote of confidence and support.”

Yassin was considered a moderate Hamas leader who managed to preserve the unity of the movement and prevent it from fragmenting into smaller, more radical groups. Many view today’s attack as further efforts on the part of the Israeli government to dismantle any viable Palestinian state or Palestinian leadership. Already, leaders throughout the world, including officials in France, Germany and Great Britain have officially condemned the action as illegal and a blow to peace efforts.

“We support the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people against Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine”, said Libbey Goldberg, a JFFP member from San Francisco. “This appalling act of violence on the eve of an alleged withdrawal from the Gaza strip, makes it clear that Sharon is more interested in withdrawing from diplomatic engagement than from Gaza.”

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