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Israel Renews Assassination Policy |
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from Palestine Monitor
Entered into the database on Friday, July 15th, 2005 @ 12:19:13 MST |
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A 24-year-old Palestinian named Mohammad Al-Aasi from the Balata Refugee Camp
was assassinated early this morning at his home in the Rafidiyeh neighborhood
of Nablus. Another Palestinian man and a British national were with him at the
time. The woman is a 60-year-old journalist living in Nablus. She is reported
to be in shock from the incident. Witnesses said about eight Israeli Jeeps and other personnel-carriers surrounded
the house around 1:30 a.m. Israeli soldiers ordered Al-Aasi to leave the house,
but he tried to escape. Israeli troops shot and injured him, and Palestinians
believe he was then shot and killed at close range due to the large exit wound
in the back of his head. Witnesses say Al-Aasi never attempted to clash with
the soldiers. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed Al-Aasi as a member, but say he was not
active in the resistance. He was one of many wanted men who was waiting to join
the police or otherwise remove himself from Israel’s target list. As a recent B’Tselem report* has pointed out, this kind of illegal extrajudicial
assassination is nothing exceptional for the IDF to carry out. But Israel’s
renewal of its illegal targeted assassination policy at this sensitive time
when the Jerusalem envelope is being closed, devastating tens of thousands of
Palestinians, and when the target was in no way involved in Tuesday’s
suicide bombing in Netanya, is incomprehensible in light of Israel’s professed
interest in peace. Other recent violations of the Sharm agreements include Israel’s re-occupation
of Tulkarem, a town given over to nominal Palestinian Authority control on March
21, as per the agreements reached in Sharm el-Sheik on February 8. During the
invasion, Israeli soldiers shot and killed at least one Palestinian Authority
policeman and arrested several Palestinians. The perpetrator of Tuesday’s
suicide bombing came from At-Til village, which is under full Israeli military
control. Palestinian officials have asked Israel how they can be held responsible
for an area not controlled by the PA. Israeli forces remain in Tulkarem, and Israel has suspended talks with Palestinian
officials until further notice, a dangerous move considering that the disengagement
is only a month away, the Palestinian Authority has soundly condemned the bombing,
the Wall and settlement building are going on unchecked, and tensions are extremely
high. Isolating the Palestinian Authority can only give more leverage to extremists
and make working toward justice and peaceful coexistence more difficult. |
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