Israel has eliminated one of the world’s leading wanted murderers, Shiekh Yassin, founder and leader of Hamas. Under Yassin’s leadership, Hamas has been responsible for the murder of hundreds of Israelis, and the wounding and maiming of hundreds more. Worse yet, any progress made in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians has always been met with Hamas terrorism, a signal to Israel that Arafat is unable to unwilling to deliver peaceful coexistence. To take just one of many examples, Shimon Peres’s Labor government of the mid-90s, the government that under Yitzchak Rabin brought the Oslo Accords, was brought down by a Hamas bus bombing campaign. Hamas’s favorite target of late has been the Erez checkpoint, where Gazan workers enter Israel. Better, from Hamas’s perspective, that Palestinians should all starve, so that they will more eagerly seek “martyrdom.”
UPDATE: The reaction in Israel is mixed, with the right cheering, and the left arguing that the assassination will only inflame hatred, that a “negotiated settlement” is the only solution. (With whom? Arafat? Hamas?) In the center, there are concerns about reprisals. I think these concerns are misplaced. All indications are that Hamas has been gearing up for a major terrorist campaign to promote the view that any full or partial withdrawal from Gaza is its doing. This campaign is receiving logistical and financial support from Hizbollah and tactical support from the Al Asqa wing of Fatah. Much better to go on the offensive against Hamas, keeping its leadership in hiding and on the run, than to sit back and wait for Hamas to go after Israel. For a largely contrary perspective, see this article in the Jerusalem Post.
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