2nd Hamas Leader Assasinated by Israel
Several world leaders have today condemned Israels assassination of a second Hamas Abdel Aziz Rantissi, who was killed in an air strike on his car on Saturday night. Israeli Prime Minister Arial Sharon is worried that Hamas will become the main power after Israel’s exit from the Gaza strip and wants to weaken their hold in Palestine. But is this latest attack just inciting more hatred and bloodshed? The European Union has called the assasination “unlawful” and “not conducive to lowering tension”, while British Foregin Secretary Jack Straw said it was “unlawful, unjustified and counterproductive”. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said it was in breach of international law. But although US officials denied giving approval to Israel for the assassination, they reaffirmed the US position that Israel has a right to defend itself against terrorists. Cinnamon Nippard asked Ahmad Shboul, Chair of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Sydney, what this says about Israel’s matter-of-fact assasination policy.