Israel: Assassination is lethal provocation

The Israeli peace organisation Gush Shalom in a press release 
has denounced the assassination of Hamas leader Abdel Aziz 
Rantissi as "another act of lethal provocation". "It might 
impress the 200,000 registered members of the Likud Party whose 
votes Sharon needs, but it endangers the Israeli people to whom 
Sharon leaves a legacy of hatred and bloodshed which might last 
many years after his own career comes to an end", said Gush 
Shalom.

"Today's unscrupled assassination is but the latest of the daily 
killings which accompany the hollow words about withdrawal [from 
the Gaza Strip]. The Palestinians are not addressed, but issued 
with ultimatums and dictates. Sharon seems to be doing everything 
to convince the Palestinians that they have no options left other 
than suicidal forms of revenge, deepening the hatred and thus 
making sure that the giving up of territory will not bring about 
peace."

Leading Israeli academic Uri Avnery, commenting on the latest 
Sharon plan says that "The maximum plan is to turn all of the 
land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River into a 
Jewish State, with no non-Jewish population. Since such an ethnic 
cleansing is not feasible for the time being, he is implementing 
his minimum plan: to enlarge the borders of the Jewish State as 
much as possible, without incorporating a further large 
Palestinian population. Therefore he wants to get rid of the Gaza 
Strip with its 1.2 million Palestinian inhabitants [while] 
consolidating the West Bank settlements where 250,000 Jewish 
settlers live.

"Sharon wants to incorporate in Israel 55 percent of the West 
Bank and crowd the 2.5 million Palestinians into the remaining 45 
percent of the area."

Commenting on the role played by President Bush, Uri Avnery said, 
"Bush is acting solely for his re-election. He needs the votes of 
the Jews and evangelical Christians who support the Israeli 
right-wing. He also needs the Jewish donations."

There are scores of UN Security Council resolutions condemning 
Israel for its acts of aggression against Lebanon, its raids on 
Syria, for changing the status of Jerusalem and against the 
establishment of Jewish settlements on Palestinian lands. There 
are a number of resolutions calling on Israel to withdraw to its 
1967 borders These UN resolutions have been systematically 
flouted by successive Israeli governments and by its United 
States backers. Compare the US attitude to the enforcement of 
resolutions against Iraq while resolutions concerning Israel are 
ignored.