by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright March 23, 2004
All Rights Reserved.

ocked in a bitter life-and-death struggle with radical Palestine, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon waited patiently, picked his target and finally killed ailing 67-year-old quadriplegic Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the hard-line spiritual leader of Hamas. Hit with three Hellfire missiles from a helicopter gunship while leaving a Gaza City mosque, the defiant Yassin went down in a blaze of glory, becoming the martyr he preached to generations of Palestinian youth. “If I'm not around, Israel will have to deal with Sheikh Yassin,” said Arafat, urging the White House to recognize his authority as the legitimate leader of the Palestinian Authority. Arafat portrayed himself as a moderate peace partner, compared to the more radical Yassin, urging the destruction of the Jewish state. Unlike Arafat and other Arab leaders, Yassin refused to compromise and accept Israel's right to exist.

      Sharon's latest gamble invited worldwide condemnation, despite Yassin's longstanding support of violence and suicide bombing. Since the Oct. 2000 Palestinian uprising, Hamas claimed nearly 400 Israeli civilian lives from sniping and suicide bombings. Shortly after Yassin's funeral in Gaza, Hamas unanimously voted in 54-year-old radical pediatrician Abdel Aziz Rantisi, considered atop of Israel's most wanted list. Where Yassin played spiritual leader, Rantisi played key terrorist in Hamas' military wing, committed to Israel's destruction. “My people, we must unify under the umbrella of resistance. Teach this Zionist occupation a lesson,” Rantisi told tens-of-thousands of frenzied supporters, shortly after senior Hamas leaders swore their allegiance in secret ballots. By eliminating the cleric Yassin, Israel handed unconditional authority to Hamas' military wing.

      Having assassinated Yassin, some fear that Sharon would go after Arafat, confined by the Israeli military to his dilapidated headquarters in the West Bank. Since razing Arafat's compound last year, Israel could have taken out Arafat long ago. Killing Yassin sends a loud message “to all those who choose to harm us that this will be their end,” said Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon, warning Hamas about expected retaliation. Sharon promised the White House he would not harm Arafat, keeping him imprisoned at his headquarters. Yassin's death, while symbolic, has no practical value curbing ongoing attacks on Israel. Murdering wheel-chair-bound Yassin should remind Hamas that Sharon considers Israel in all out war. Threatening retaliation won't stop Sharon from eradicating Hamas' leadership and terrorist infrastructure currently destabilizing Israeli national security.

      Sharon frequently compares Yassin or Arafat with Osama bin Laden, the international terrorist responsible for Sept. 11. No matter how hateful, Arafat and Yassin don't control a global terror network, hell-bent on wreaking havoc on Western civilization. Neither Yassin nor Arafat plays any current role in terror activities, including suicide bombings. Yassin and Arafat spew hateful messages but don't directly threaten Israel. “The strike on Yassin is a significant blow to the Hamas terror organization,” said Yaalon, justifying the targeted killing yet not admitting that Yassin was too sick to really threaten Israel. Targeting Yassin, while justified, hurts Israel by galvanizing world opinion against the Jewish state. Yet there's symbolic value to targeting charismatic leadership. Before violence spirals out-of-control, Hamas should carefully measure its response.

      Palestinians haven't caught up with changing times, placing the U.S. squarely against terrorism. Sept. 11changed the landscape dealing with terrorists, especially Arafat whose legitimacy collapsed together with the last peace deal at Camp David. While some Palestinians consider Arafat legitimate, Bush is the first president to break off diplomatic relations, giving Sharon a free hand to deal with terror. Before Arafat walked away from Camp David in Aug. 2000, he was regarded as a legitimate peace partner. Now Palestinians—including radicals like Rantisi—must recognize they can't win an armed struggle against Israel. Yassin invited his own demise by publicly preaching hate, unwilling to control incendiary rhetoric. Before Rantisi meets the same fate, he should go back to the drawing board and figure out a constructive way to improve Palestinians' future.

      Yassin's final words speak volumes about how his own hate and violence took his life. No public preacher can spew hatred without accepting the repercussions. “The land of Palestine is an Arab, Islamic land which was occupied with the force of weapons by the Jewish Zionists and we will not get back except with the force of weapons,” wrote Yassin, in remarks slated for an Arab summit in Tunisia. His unwillingness to recognize Israel put Yassin at the heart of today's xenophobia and anti-Semitism, not a partner engineering an open society and comprehensive peace. Yet Yassin's assassination does little to end terrorism or improve Israel's national security. Before Hamas' new leader falls into the same trap, he should figure out a better way than suicide bombing to achieve political objectives. Preaching hate and violence didn't work for Yassin and won't work for Rantisi.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global new. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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