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Hamas leader survives attack; son, guard killed

Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar smiles from his hospital bed in Gaza City on Wednesday. An Israeli warplane narrowly failed in an attempt to assassinate Zahar but killed his son and a bodyguard in Gaza City on Wednesday. — Reuters photo

Jerusalem, September 10
Hours after two deadly Palestinian suicide bombings killed at least 16 persons, Israel retaliated today with an air attack on radical Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar’s home, killing his son and bodyguard in tit-for-tat strikes that plunged the West Asia peace hopes into turmoil.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon cut short his visit to India following the twin suicide bombings at a bus stop outside Tsrifin Army base near Tel Aviv and a popular nightspot ‘Cafe Hillel’ here within five hours of each other overnight.

The attack on Zahar’s Gaza City home today by Israeli warplanes injured the Hamas leader in the leg, killed his son and a bodyguard, flattened his home and damaged a mosque.

The bombings, for which no one claimed responsibility but Israel blamed Hamas and Palestinian Authority (PA), are seen as a response to Israel’s botched assassination attempt at Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin last Saturday. A Hamas commander in the West Bank city of Hebron was also killed by Israel yesterday.

Tel Aviv said Yasser Arafat’s PA had “failed totally” to meet its peace process obligations to control terrorists, amidst ominous indications that Israel was mulling the expulsion of the Palestinian leader.

“PA had failed totally to live up to its roadmap commitments. Now Israel will do what is necessary,” Mr Dore Gold, a spokesman for Mr Sharon said.

Eight persons were killed in the suicide attack on Cafe Hillel in a crowded Jerusalem neighbourhood, while seven soldiers waiting at the bus stop near the Tsrifin Army base in the Rishon Letsion were killed along with the bomber in the earlier attack. Dozens were maimed or injured.

While a Hamas statement welcomed both attacks as “payback time” with its political leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi saying “Israelis should pay the price of their terror action,” Ahmed Qurei, Arafat’s nominee as Palestinian Prime Minister condemned the attacks. — PTI, UNI