By IPS Correspondents
DUBAI, Mar 23 2004 (IPS)

As Arabs and their leaders widely condemn Israel’s assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin Monday, anger continues to spill into the streets, many are bracing for a violent backlash and moderates are raising their hands in frustration.

As Arabs and their leaders widely condemn Israel’s assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin Monday, anger continues to spill into the streets, many are bracing for a violent backlash and moderates are raising their hands in frustration.

Already, groups like the al-Qaeda network are asking members to take revenge by targetting U.S. interests worldwide.

Many are asking for blood in the wake of the killing by Israeli helicopters of Yassin, the spiritual leader of the radical Palestinian group Hamas in what Israel called the ”liquidation of a terrorist”, after he came from dawn prayers Monday.

A day after more than 100,000 people joined his funeral in Gaza City, and grieving men, women and children poured into the streets, schools and businesses in the West Bank and Gaza Strip observed the second of a three-day mourning period.

Many, including women clad in black Islamic dress, carried light and heavy guns, including Russian-made AK-47 Kalashnikovs and shoulder-held rockets.

Negative reactions also poured in from Arab countries in the Middle East, many of which have tried hard in the past to engineer peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.

One of the first words of condemnation came from Egypt, a country that has been most active in trying to strike a peace between Israelis and the Palestinians. Many Hamas members and leaders – including Yassin himself – long lived in Egypt and have had close ties with Egypt’s fundamentalist movement, Moslem Brotherhood.

In response to a question about the future of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, a visibly frustrated Mubarak replied: “What peace process when the situation is on fire? Nobody would have imagined that matters would go this far. … Its repercussions are unknown.”

Perhaps in response to such calls, Mubarak announced he was canceling Egypt’s participation in 25th anniversary celebrations for the Camp David accords with Israel

But some analysts doubted Yassin’s assassination would reflect negatively on moderate Arab states.

“I don’t imagine this would have an immediate negative impact. If anything, I think it would activate Islamic movements against Israel and the United States,” said Mohamed Seyed Said, director of Egypt’s Center for Political and Strategic Studies.

While they wrapped themselves in the slogans condemning Israel, some moderate Arab states could not have ignored calls from within their population blaming them and their foreign policy for Yassin’s assassination.

“This criminal act is ultimately a shame upon the leaders of the so-called moderate leaders in the region who by dealing with Israel have emboldened it to carry out such attacks,” says Mohammed Mehdi Akef, the recently appointed leader of Egypt’s Moslem Brotherhood.

“This should show Arab leaders that they should cut relations with the Zionist state and kick out all Jews from their countries,” he added.

In Jordan, Israel’s other neighbour, King Abdullah, who only days earlier had secretly met with Sharon in Israel, said: “This crime will lead to more escalation, violence and instability” in the region and urged the international community to “bear its responsibilities and move to bring the peace process back on track and save the region from the state of violence and chaos we continuously reject.”

Turkey, which has lately warmed up relations with the Jewish state to the dismay of some of its Arab commercial and political partners, called the attack “very dangerous”.

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said he feared the killing would escalate violence. “The operation Israel conducted this morning is very dangerous. I am very concerned,” he said. “It can escalate the situation, it can escalate terrorism,” he told reporters. “It was done without any feeling of responsibility,” Gul said.

Saudi Arabia, which for years bankrolled the Palestine Liberation Organisation of Arafat, condemned Israel’s “criminal” act.

“The kingdom strongly condemns this criminal act which flouts all international and humanitarian norms and laws,” said a statement issued after the weekly cabinet meeting chaired by Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz.

The de facto ruler of the kingdom said Israel’s real intention in killing the quadriplegic was “in the first place to kill international efforts designed to revive the Middle East peace process”.

Groups like al-Qaeda have sounded the alarm for war, asking its members to revenge the killing by targeting U.S. targets worldwide.

“Sheikh Yassin’s blood will not have been shed in vain – we call on all the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades to avenge the sheikh of the Palestinian resistance by striking the tyrant of the century America and its allies,” a statement issued on the website of a group long known for its association with al-Qaeda said.

Abu Hafs al-Masri was an al-Qaeda leader killed in the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan in 2001.

The leader of the Lebanese group Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, said his fighters, who are often involved in skirmishes with Israel from their bases in southern Lebanon, will “take the harshest revenge to avenge this foolish act of Israel”.

Hardline Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad have also declared open war on Israel, saying they will target Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who reportedly approved the assassination of Yassin.

“The battle is open and war between us and them is open,” said senior Hamas political leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi.

The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, part of Arafat’s Fatah faction, called for “war, war, war on the sons of Zion… There will be a response within hours, God willing”.

While the threat of renewed and escalated violence in the region was on the mind of many in the region, representatives of what is known as the ‘quartet’ met in Cairo behind the high-walls of the U.S. Embassy on Monday.

The group, consisting of representatives of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, had scheduled the meeting before Yassin’s assassination to discuss how to breed new life into the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

In the face of the assassination, they only met for an hour, without the presence of reporters, and disbanded without issuing a statement.

Excerpt:

By IPS Correspondents
DUBAI, Mar 23 2004 (IPS)

As Arabs and their leaders widely condemn Israel’s assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin Monday, anger continues to spill into the streets, many are bracing for a violent backlash and moderates are raising their hands in frustration.

Already, groups like the al-Qaeda network are asking members to take revenge by targetting U.S. targets worldwide.

Many are asking for blood in the wake of the killing by Israeli helicopters of Yassin, the spiritual leader of the radical Palestinian group Hamas in what Israel called the ”liquidation of a terrorist”, after he came from dawn prayers Monday.

A day after more than 100,000 people joined his funeral in Gaza City, and grieving men, women and children poured into the streets, schools and businesses in the West Bank and Gaza Strip observed the second of a three-day mourning period.

Many, including women clad in black Islamic dress, carried light and heavy guns, including Russian-made AK-47 Kalashnikovs and shoulder-held rockets.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat called the assassination “another barbaric Israeli act” and asked the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution condemning Monday’s attack. While U. N. Secretary General Kofi Annan has condemned the attack, it is not clear whether the Security Council will convene on the issue. In the past, the United States has vetoed similar resolutions.

Negative reactions also poured in from Arab countries in the Middle East, many of which have tried hard in the past to engineer peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.

One of the first words of condemnation came from Egypt, a country that has been most active in trying to strike a peace between Israelis and the Palestinians. Many Hamas members and leaders – including Yassin himself – long lived in Egypt and have had close ties with Egypt’s fundamentalist movement, Moslem Brotherhood.

In response to a question about the future of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, a visibly frustrated Mubarak replied: “What peace process when the situation is on fire? Nobody would have imagined that matters would go this far. … Its repercussions are unknown.”

Perhaps in response to such calls, Mubarak announced he was canceling Egypt’s participation in 25th anniversary celebrations for the Camp David accords with Israel

But some analysts doubted Yassin’s assassination would reflect negatively on moderate Arab states.

“I don’t imagine this would have an immediate negative impact. If anything, I think it would activate Islamic movements against Israel and the United States,” said Mohamed Seyed Said, director of Egypt’s Center for Political and Strategic Studies.

While they wrapped themselves in the slogans condemning Israel, some moderate Arab states could not have ignored calls from within their population blaming them and their foreign policy for Yassin’s assassination.

“This criminal act is ultimately a shame upon the leaders of the so-called moderate leaders in the region who by dealing with Israel have emboldened it to carry out such attacks,” says Mohammed Mehdi Akef, the recently appointed leader of Egypt’s Moslem Brotherhood.

“This should show Arab leaders that they should cut relations with the Zionist state and kick out all Jews from their countries,” he added.

In Jordan, Israel’s other neighbour, King Abdullah, who only days earlier had secretly met with Sharon in Israel, said: “This crime will lead to more escalation, violence and instability” in the region and urged the international community to “bear its responsibilities and move to bring the peace process back on track and save the region from the state of violence and chaos we continuously reject.”

Turkey, which has lately warmed up relations with the Jewish state to the dismay of some of its Arab commercial and political partners, called the attack “very dangerous”.

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said he feared the killing would escalate violence. “The operation Israel conducted this morning is very dangerous. I am very concerned,” he said. “It can escalate the situation, it can escalate terrorism,” he told reporters. “It was done without any feeling of responsibility,” Gul said.

Saudi Arabia, which for years bankrolled the Palestine Liberation Organisation of Arafat, condemned Israel’s “criminal” act.

“The kingdom strongly condemns this criminal act which flouts all international and humanitarian norms and laws,” said a statement issued after the weekly cabinet meeting chaired by Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz.

The de facto ruler of the kingdom said Israel’s real intention in killing the quadriplegic was “in the first place to kill international efforts designed to revive the Middle East peace process”.

Groups like al-Qaeda have sounded the alarm for war, asking its members to revenge the killing by targeting U.S. targets worldwide.

“Sheikh Yassin’s blood will not have been shed in vain – we call on all the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades to avenge the sheikh of the Palestinian resistance by striking the tyrant of the century America and its allies,” a statement issued on the website of a group long known for its association with al-Qaeda said.

Abu Hafs al-Masri was an al-Qaeda leader killed in the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan in 2001.

The leader of the Lebanese group Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, said his fighters, who are often involved in skirmishes with Israel from their bases in southern Lebanon, will “take the harshest revenge to avenge this foolish act of Israel”.

Hardline Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad have also declared open war on Israel, saying they will target Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who reportedly approved the assassination of Yassin.

“The battle is open and war between us and them is open,” said senior Hamas political leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi.

The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, part of Arafat’s Fatah faction, called for “war, war, war on the sons of Zion… There will be a response within hours, God willing”.

While the threat of renewed and escalated violence in the region was on the mind of many in the region, representatives of what is known as the ‘quartet’ met in Cairo behind the high-walls of the U.S. Embassy on Monday.

The group, consisting of representatives of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, had scheduled the meeting before Yassin’s assassination to discuss how to breed new life into the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

In the face of the assassination, they only met for an hour, without the presence of reporters, and disbanded without issuing a statement.

Excerpt: