Palestinian militants today warned of swift and bloody retaliation against Israel after it “opened the gates of hell” by assassinating Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin.
Hamas and other armed groups in the region warned of an immediate escalation in violence, while tens of thousands of mourners poured on to the streets of Gaza for the funeral procession of Yassin, who was killed along with seven others in a helicopter missile strike early on Monday.
In scenes that were repeated in towns across the occupied territories, angry crowds called for revenge against Israel and the US.
Violent clashes broke out between the demonstrators and Israeli security forces, and at least one Palestinian was reportedly killed when Israeli soldiers fired on the crowd in Gaza.
“Words cannot describe the emotion of anger and hate inside our hearts,” said Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh, a close associate of Yassin.
A spokesman for a group of militant Palestinian groups in the Palestinian territories, Abu Abeer, told the pan-Arab satellite channel Al-Arabiya there would be “swift and serious” repercussions. “They have opened the gates of hell,” he warned. “For us, everything is now permissible after this assassination.”
Yassin is the most prominent Palestinian leader to be killed by Israel, and his assassination was seen as a major escalation in more than three years of fighting.
At dawn today, Israeli helicopters fired three missiles as Yassin, his bodyguards and other worshippers left a mosque. Yassin, who was using a wheelchair, and seven others were killed, including several bodyguards. Seventeen people were wounded.
“His wheelchair was twisted. Two or three people were lying next to him on the ground,” said taxi driver Yousef Haddad, who had rushed out of a nearby grocers’ shop when the missiles shook the Sabra district.
Israel said it held Yassin responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people. The Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, a former army general, was updated throughout the operation, security officials said.
The Yassin assassination was being seen as an enormous gamble by Mr Sharon, who is trying to score a decisive victory against Hamas ahead of a possible Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. It risks triggering a dramatic escalation in bloodshed that could turn the popular mood in Israel against him.
Political leaders across the Arab world and beyond lined up to condemn Israel’s action, while the US appealed for calm on both sides.
The Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qureia, said: “This is one of the biggest crimes that the Israeli government has committed.”
The Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, described the assassination as a “barbaric crime”.
In Kuwait, one of America’s closest allies in the Arab world, the prime minister, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, warned: “Violence will increase now because violence always breeds violence.”
The British foreign secretary, Jack Straw, condemned the “unlawful killing”. He said: “It’s unjustifiable and it’s unlikely to achieve its objectives.”
Gideon Meir, an Israeli foreign ministry official, defended the assassination. He said Yassin had been “the one who is sending children and women to explode themselves” in suicide attacks against Israel.
Hamas promised a harsh response. “Yassin is a man in a nation, and a nation in a man. And the retaliation of this nation will be of the size of this man,” said Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a prominent Hamas leader in Gaza who himself escaped an Israeli assassination attempt in June last year.
For the first time, Hamas also threatened the United States, saying America’s backing of Israel made the assassination possible. “All the Muslims of the world will be honoured to join in on the retaliation for this crime,” Hamas said in a statement.
In the past, Hamas leaders have insisted their struggle is against Israel, and that they would not get involved in causes by militant Muslims in other parts of the world.
Monday’s statement suggested that Hamas might seek outside help in carrying out revenge attacks, since its capabilities have been limited by Israeli military strikes. The militant groups Islamic Jihad and the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, sometimes at odds with Hamas, also promised revenge.
The increased threat prompted Israel to close its borders on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, barring all Palestinian from entering Israel. Most West Bank Palestinians were confined to their communities.
Israel’s military commander, Lieutenant General Moshe Yaalon, met with senior officers in Tel Aviv to discuss the possible fallout, and more forces were ordered to the Gaza Strip.
In a first response, Palestinian militants fired 10 home-made rockets toward an Israeli settlement in Gaza. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Israel had previously tried to kill Yassin in September last year, in an air raid on a building where he and other Hamas leaders were meeting, but Yassin escaped with just a small wound to his hand. – Guardian Unlimited Â