Israel’s assassination of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was described as ”stupid” and reckless by world leaders and press commentators on Tuesday who warned that the killing would likely lead to further bloodshed in the Middle East.
One of the strongest condemnations came from the European Union’s External Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten who said Israel’s killing of the 67-year-old wheelchair-bound cleric during an Israeli air strike on Monday was downright ”stupid”.
Speaking on BBC radio, Patten said Yassin’s death would only fan the flames of violence between Israelies and Palestinians — and that the United States needs to play a bigger role in bringing peace to the region.
”We have to make it clear, like [United Nations Secretary General] Kofi Annan, that what has happened was illegal and make it clear, as Shimon Peres has said, that what’s happened was extremely unwise, some may say stupid,” Patten said.
”It does risk pouring petrol on flames which were already all too high,” he said.
”What we have to do is, first of all, to go on encouraging and pressing for restraint on both sides, secondly go on providing such humanitarian assistance as we can and try to keep the Palestinian Authority, such as it is, in being.”
The European Union is the principal source of funding for the Palestinian Authority.
Patten said the ”most important way” to pursue the fight against global terrorism was by restoring peace in the Middle East.
”It’s not the only thing which has to be done, but it’s absolutely imperative that we show ourselves more committed to it,” he said.
”Otherwise I’m afraid what will continue to happen is that moderate Islamic governments and moderate Islamic voters will be alienated from the campaign against terrorism and will find themselves driven sometimes, against their interests and against what they believe fundamentally to be right, into accepting the terrorists’ arguments.”
Japan on Tuesday summoned Israel’s ambassador over the killing, describing it as ”a reckless act that has no justification whatsoever.”
When called to the foreign ministry, Ambassador Eli Cohen told officials that Yassin was responsible for killing innocent Israelis and was no different from al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, Japan Broadcasting reported.
In China, foreign ministry spokesperson Kong Quan told journalists: ”We have on many occasions mentioned that the targetted elimination by Israel will not help to solve the problem.”
In New Zealand, Prime Minister Helen Clark said that while Hamas was known as an organisation that inspired people ”to commit terrible atrocities. On the other hand I think few would see taking out the leader of that movement as a step forward towards peace.”
Clark said there was no doubting Hamas’ links with terrorist attacks, but asked ”do two wrongs make a right?”
Russian newspapers said Yassin’s murder could bury any chance of peace in the Middle East and warned that Israel had opened the ”gate to hell”.
”Iraq 2. The murder of Hamas’s leader is going to make the situation in the Middle East unpredictable,” wrote Nezavisimaya Gazeta.
”The only official peace plan for the region, the ‘roadmap,’ is today dead,” Nezavisimaya said.
”Israel has opened ‘the gate to hell,”’ wrote the Izvestia daily.
”The situation in Israel risks being transformed into a large-scale war that will inflame anti-West and anti-Israeli sentiment throughout the Arab world.”
Germany’s biggest-selling newspaper Bild published a graphic picture on Tuesday of Yassin’s mutilated head and warned that his killing would likely only serve his cause.
”He loudly preached the destruction of Israel and hatred burned in his eyes until the last,” it said of the ”terror sheikh,” although it also warned that his killing was ”not a clever move” as it would turn him into a martyr.
”He was a man of terror. But despite his blindness, he was not blind to the political realities,” the Sueddeutsche Zietung commented.
”Ceasefires could be negotiated with him. He was seen as the only one who could control his organisation. Now Hamas has been unchained.”
”There could be no peace with him, and none without,” the conservative Die Welt daily said.
Italy’s daily La Repubblica warned that ”the countdown for the next (suicide) attack” in Israel had started with Yassin’s killing.
”With these three missiles, the government of [Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon] has launched an endless escalation that will cost the lives of many,” it said.
Washington, Israel’s staunchest ally, for its part said it was ”deeply troubled” by the killing but stopped short of condemning it.
”We do think that this event increases tension and it doesn’t help efforts to resume progress towards peace,” said State Department spokesperson Richard Boucher said.
In Israeli, the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon defended the assassination saying Yassin belonged to a terrorist organisation and vowing to continue its policy of killing Hamas officials.
”We have switched from defence to offence and in this battle all the members of the Hamas leadership are legitimate targets,” Interior Security Minister Tzahi Hanegbi told public radio.
”The days of the terrorist chiefs and commanders who will not spend all their time trying to survive and still prepare attacks are numbered,” Hanegbi said.
Yassin’s killing prompted the radical Islamist movement Hamas, which he founded, to declare all-out war on Israel. – Sapa-AFP