Israeli Airstrike Kills Militant Leader & 12 Year Old Boy

Israel & Palestine Forum

An Israeli helicopter fired a missile into a car traveling in a crowded Gaza City street Saturday, killing a leader of the militant Islamic Jihad group and a 12-year-old boy on his way to school. The attack wounded 10 Palestinians, three of them critically, in Israel's first targeted killing in six weeks, doctors said.

Also Saturday, a Palestinian military court charged four suspects with planting explosives along a main road in Gaza. A prosecutor said the defendants targeted Israeli tanks, but that one of their bombs may also have ripped apart a U.S. diplomatic vehicle and killed three American security guards Oct. 15.

The Palestinian killed in Saturday's air strike was identified as Aziz Mahmoud Shami, leader of Islamic Jihad's military wing in Gaza City. The Israeli military said Shami was in the midst of preparing for "a major attack" on the Gaza Strip settlement of Netzarim.

The army also said he was behind a 1995 double suicide bombing near the coastal city of Netanya that killed 21 Israelis and a more recent infiltration into a Gaza Strip military base in which three soldiers were killed.

Shami was driving in a white Peugeot in a busy Gaza City street when an Israeli helicopter fired a missile, ripping apart the front of the vehicle. Witnesses also heard the roar of F-16 fighter jets breaking the sound barrier over Gaza.

The attack also killed Tarek Sousi, who was on his way to school, doctors said.

Onlooker Mohammed Taleb, 36, said he was a few yards from the car when it exploded, and was knocked to the ground. After a moment he ran to the flaming car.

"The driver had lost his leg and he was lying half in and half out of the car bleeding heavily," Taleb said. "A small boy with his school bag was covered with blood and two other boys were screaming next to him."

Three of the 10 wounded were being operated on for shrapnel wounds to the chest and legs, doctors said.

Israel's military has routinely sent helicopters and F-16 jets to kill Palestinian militants in targeted missile attacks throughout more than three years of fighting.

Members of Islamic Jihad said Shami was the leader of the group's military wing in Gaza City and a cousin of the overall Islamic Jihad leader, Abdullah Shami.

Abdullah Shami said his group, which has carried out dozens of suicide bombings in Israel, would have its revenge.

"The Islamic Jihad movement is a resistance movement and it will respond to this aggression with all its force," Shami said, kissing his cousin's forehead at the morgue of Shifa Hospital in Gaza city.

Meanwhile, Palestinian authorities indicted four men for planting explosives on the main road in Gaza, leading from the Erez crossing to Gaza City.

U.S. officials have been pressing the Palestinians to find those responsible and have repeatedly said they are disappointed with the level of cooperation with Palestinian police. Recently U.S. officials have warned that some U.S. aid programs could be scaled back or canceled if there is no progress in the probe.

A military prosecutor said those bombs were intended to target Israeli tanks entering the Strip, but one of the explosives may have ripped apart a U.S. diplomatic car in the Oct. 15 attack on the convoy.

Palestinian and U.S. investigators found evidence indicating that the bomb was detonated by someone who intentionally targeted the U.S. convoy after watching it pass from a nearby hiding place. A wire found in the road after the blast was attached to a remote control device in a nearby shack.

The court set a Feb. 29 trial date for the four men.

Saturday's air strike came several days after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he would remove nearly all the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip as part of a "disengagement plan" from the Palestinians.

On Friday, Sharon's spokesman said Israel is considering relocating Gaza settlers in areas of the West Bank it wants to annex in a final peace deal. Palestinians denounced that plan as a land grab and a violation of international law.

As part of the disengagement plan, Israel would move soldiers and settlers out of some Palestinian areas and impose a boundary that would fall far short of turning over all the territory the Palestinians want for a future state.

The plan is to be completed within two or three months, Sharon spokesman Assaf Shariv said Friday.

Some 7,500 Jewish settlers live among 1.3 million Palestinians in the crowded Gaza Strip. Sharon's plan would leave at least three Gaza settlements in place, at least until a final peace deal.

Source: AP

It's a shame the Suicide bomb which caused this strike didn't get it's own thread.

While it's unfortunate whenever a Palestinian civilian dies in an otherwise successful, precision strike--particularly a child--that does not mean the strike was wrong.

On the contrary, it is the responsibility of Israel's government to kill Palestinian mass murderers before they strike.

While extending condolences to the family of the 12-year old child--I don't blame any person that young--I applaud the IAF on the successful elimination of an Islamic Jihad barbarian.

To any decent person, it is clear that members of "Islamic Jihad" are savage, brutal, primitive, bloodthirsty, mass murdering, racist, intolerant, hateful, brainwashed, barbarians. When Islamic Jihad kills Jewish children, it's because they target them, and rather than apologizing or expressing their condolences they celebrate the carnage.

So I not only applaud the IDF for eliminating a Palestinian terrorist, I demand more such strikes.

How barbaric! Merkava is actually demanding more strikes - yet he implies that it is okay if children are killed at the same time, as long as a terrorist is killed two. Are you sick??

Do you have some sort of reading comprehension problem?

You said "I demand more strikes" - you actually hope for there to be more strikes like that one. You say that although you don't approve of the child being killed, it is still acceptable because an Islamic Jihad militant was taken out. So lets ask the question again: Was the strike acceptable or not?? Yes or no would do fine thank you.

Merkava, Israel was wrong here as they have been in the past with this type of strike. You don't shoot missles into a crowded public street because of one person you want dead. That is simply wrong.

It's like the police coming to your apartment building because they know a criminal is in there and leveling the entire building simply to kill that one person. It's wrong and they need to find another way to do this.

While I do condone targeting of the leaders that plot suicide bombings, there's no way to justify killing that young 12 yr old boy because they shot a missle into civilian population.

And before AntiZion get all excited, I believe that Palestinian militants and their leaders intentionally move among civil population hoping Israel will strike and kill civilians simply to prove to the Arab world how barbaric Israel is to disrupt any chance at peace. They hide among them in cities, refugee camps, and market places. They intentionally bring danger to their own people, the very people they say they are fighting for freedom for and for this they bear much of the blame.

So you see, the problem is a two way street. It's not fair to simply blame Israel for all the Palestinian sufferings as they tend to do. Today, instead of saying enough, they call for more strikes. When will they learn that in this age they have a much stronger weapon than bombing resturants and killing families in settlements.

Israel can be forced to treat them humanely they look at other bombings such as Lebonnon and the US subsequent withdrawal, or the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and how they withdrew to support their endless cycle of sending more bombers into Israel. They bomb because of retaliation. They bomb because Israel is there in their land. They bomb because Israel killed a member of their organization. They bomb because, because, because, and it's tired and leading them no where fast.

I'd simply love to hear an alternative to killing the terrorists?

Snipers? Can't be done.

How about actually using their well trained army and actually shoot the terrorists or simply arrest them. I mean if there's 5 people and there all chasing after 1 man then surely they're gonna catch him right? What ever the alternative, blowing up a street because 1 terrorist is there is not acceptable.

Apparently you've never been to the West Bank, or Gaza Strip.

If they can find them, they can track them Merk. Think of it as the streets of Florida. What if your son was walking down the street and someone who wanted another killed wiped out everything in the area just to get him.

I'm sure the grief of his parents find little comfort in the fact that militants were the target. Firing rockets into a crowded market place is not acceptable.

Attacks like these are what bring the Number of suicide attacks against israel down from 10/ month to 1/month.

Once again, none of this would have happened if the PA would have dismantled Hamas and company like they SHOULD HAVE according to the roadmap.

I agree with your latter post, but your former post isn't exactly accurate. I believe Israel has created many more suicide bombers with stunts like this.

What's cutting down on suicide bombings is Israels relentless patrollings of its borders and checkpoints. They're making it harder for the bombers to get in, not to mention the wall that's being constructed over there.

They PA certainly has a problem on their hands. dismantling Hamas and others comes at the risk of civil war. As much as people hate it, they have to be included in the peace process. At the risk of sounding biased it's not as if they think beyond their hatred. I think in some ways you have to lower yourselves to their level to get the process going.

However bombing civilians is unacceptable and barbaric, though I can see their frustrations.

Why do you think that the Jews should leave the terrorist out in the free and not cut his head, while he was the leader of another terror attack on the Jews?

The Jews, not as the barbarian Arabs, target only terrorista. and if someone get hurt it's just because they were mixed and companied by civilians.

The barbaric dead Arab terrorist had been killed days before sponcering a new terror Attack on Jewish kid.

Goood Allah prevented him to do so.

=============================================

another Arab terror attack was dismissed.

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Allegro are you subscribing to the end justifying the means? So if a criminal was in a mall where you and your family was shopping, it's ok for the authorities to level the entire mall just so long as they got their man right?

There's nothing justifying shooting missiles into a crowded food market. That's easy to sit back and say this is ok when it's not your son or daughter being killed in the process.

Contrary to the ideologies you subscribe to, every Palastinian is not guilty of suicide bombings. If you're going to target Hamas leaders fine, but not in a crowd with children and women. If you don't see this as barbaric, then your definition of it needs refinement.

So the United states wouldn't have done the same to capture Osama? Saddaam?

Welcome to reality - this is the only way Israel can retaliate - there are no 'straight open' roads that Hamas takes, they specifically go through crowded streets for this purpose.

Israel gets the recon that a Specific Hamas member is on his way to construct an attack against Israeli civilians, the IAF sends out Apache's to pinpoint his location, they find the Car - fire a weakened 13" rocket at the front of the car. The weak missle leaves the passenger compartment intact, some passengers manage to survive. One by stander dies from debree.

This is simply the most effective way to eliminate Hamas leaders - call it barbaric, but you damn well know that if you lost family or friend to Hamas, youd be calling it 'not enough'.

It's Israel's responsibility to protect its Citizens, while keeping a regard for Palestinian safety. With that being said, be glad they didn't use a conventional missile which would have obliterated the car like they should have.

So because the US does it lends legitimacy to it? I would like to believe that the US wouldn't drop a bomb on Baghdad Mall simply to get Saddam or Osama knowing it's full of women and children.

Oh wow, great reply, really touching, gets to the point, Give me a break......Your dumb, stop spreading your crap around, nobody wants it, go on if it makes u feel better though

No rebuttal? No proof? Damn shame.

What proof are u asking for?

Quick comment on Merkava's point

Out of every 200 attempted suicide bombings, 198 are stopped - Israel have dealt with these evil people efficiently.

It's just a shame that out of 69 UN laws violated by Israel, none of them have been dealt with.

Antizion where do you get those numbers from?

And Merk, actually Israel is violation of more than 69 UN mandates.

Them numbers were official a few months ago, and they're from a pretty reliable source. Israel do have amazing security.

And actually Israel arent in breach of more than 69, there 69th was wen they attacked syria.

I'll have to check again on the breech of resolutions, I may be wrong, but as for the numbers, I'm not sure about that. I think recently with the wall going up and the zones at the borders with bobwire and mines, this has slowed the bombers pace, but it seems like when they want to get through, they do.

Redudnant weightless violations like:

* Resolution 267: " . . . 'censures' Israel for administrative acts to change the status of Jerusalem".
* Resolution 271: " . . . 'condemns' Israel's failure to obey UN resolutions on Jerusalem".
* Resolution 279: " . . . 'demands' withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon".
* Resolution 280: " . . . 'condemns' Israeli's attacks against Lebanon".
* Resolution 285: " . . . 'demands' immediate Israeli withdrawal form Lebanon".
* Resolution 298: " . . . 'deplores' Israel's changing of the status of Jerusalem".
* Resolution 313: " . . . 'demands' that Israel stop attacks against Lebanon".
* Resolution 316: " . . . 'condemns' Israel for repeated attacks on Lebanon".
* Resolution 317: " . . . 'deplores' Israel's refusal to release Arabs abducted in Lebanon".
* Resolution 332: " . . . 'condemns' Israel's repeated attacks against Lebanon".

They'll condem Israel's defensive raids, but they wont condem Suicide bombings.

I really never cared for the UN, and their last move showed their true Bias.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/mi...ast/3241884.stm

You simply find them unimportant because you are pro-israel.

And the reason they can't start saying that Palestine is in breach of UN laws because THERE IS NO PALESTINE! Just a bunch of people called Palestinians! It's like saying that the whole of England should be condemned just because of Ian Huntley! (if you don't know who he is cause you don't live in england, look it up).

Whether or not Palestine is a country has nothing to do with Israel issuing a resolution which calls for a "Protection of its children from terrorism".

The fact that the Palestinians got the resolution, yet the UN fvcked Israel's identical resolution simply shows how the Muslim majority creates a bias in the UN.

Only 5 countries can veto resolutions, and one of them is Israel's greatest supporters.

Besides the point, are you suggesting that the UN should pass a resolution condemning the Palestinians? How can they do this when they have no country and it in only the small minority committing the wrong?

And once again, it comes down to you not being able to read my post properly

"Protecting Israel's children from Terrorism"

That has nothing to do with the Palestinians having a state or not. The fact that they don't have a state, doesnt give them the right to murder Jews, Antilogic.

According to your logic (or lack of), the Palestinians should have never recieved their own identical resolution, since they don't have a state.

You make it seem like the Palestinians were the agressors, like the Jewish people had their own land and some Arabs decided that they wanted to make a country right ontop of it, they planned to carry out massacres and with help of the U.S they would go on with silence and they will kick out the Jews out and harras the remaining ones for years, then after 54 years the Jews deicided to fight for their country and they used suicide bombing , then people ignorant people like you would call them terrorists, if this was the case, even as an Arab i would not support this . So Merkava, your just a zionist who keeps on talking about terrorism but you fail to talk about the terrorism that Israel has done.

And he says we're "blinded" with hate!

But the Jews owned less than 7% of the land in 1947!

They didnt want any jews in Palestine is a ignorant excuse, there was already Jews living in Palestine, and also they didnt accept the UN treaty because it was unfair and it gave more land to the Jews, while the Arabs where the ones who owned it.

No no no, that was the plan to make a jewish state, that was not the land that jews owned, they ONLY and ONLY owned 7% of the land. As you can see, its really unfair for the Palestinians to accept that Offer, they had to get more land than the Jews, but that didnt happen, the Jews wit owning 7% of the land got more land in the UN plan. If it was a better offer, Right now there would be peace in the middle east ( except for Iraq) , yes things would have been better if the Palestinians accepted this Plan, but they saw it as an insult, giving more land to the Jews while they only owned 7% of Palestine is a spit in the face for them.

Once again: Palestine, and palestinians, didn't exist prior to 1948. Under-developed arabs riding camels around plain deserts - none of those people own anything. And the main argument now is over lands captured by Israel after numerous attacks on it by arab countries, which Israel defeated - being a much smaller country with less resources.

Your denial of Palestine being a country makes you not worthy of our time.

Actually, Palestine did become some kind of a country. Thanks to Israel's despotism and oppression, hospitality industry was bringing moneys to Palestine prior to 2000 - when the intifadah started.

Getting bacl to the original point - id it justifiable to kill a 12 year old boy and wound other innocent people who may have been going to work or whatever. The whole concept of using a helicoptor to kill one man and in th process kill and wound others that are innocent is wrong. Israel ahs the right to peotect itself that is true but this attack may have done more harm than good in the long term. There were 4 other young boys in the area at the time they may have been friends of the dead boy which would make them about 11 - 12 what do you think thier views of Israel are right now probably hatred and rightly so if onw of my friends was killed and I was injured just for walking down the street then I would hate whoever did that to me, would I seek revenge? hell yeah, maybe these kids will sekk revenge so maybe Israel has possibly created 4 more potential suicide bombers at the expense of one. There were other options of getting this guy if the secret service had this intel about future attacks what about sending in a spy or undercover special forces to kill him ( most countries have done this. Though offcially they never did ). or a sniper, somebody said that Israel does not do this but they have rember the peace campaigner killed by an Isaraelli sniper? the simple fact is that Israel ignored the quiet covert ops for a loud deadly message.

I believe Israel is wrong when they attack terrorist leaders among civilian population. I don't believe it creates any less threat however even if they didn't do this.

Remember, many of these terrorist leaders are plotting to bomb Israel in the first place. It's not like they're on their way to Starbucks for a cup of coffee.

Luke, I believe you to be one of the most objective people in these threads I've come across. I am almost in agreement with you in many of your posts. What I find myself doing here is defending Israel to the point where I may be giving the wrong signals.

I'm not pro Israel anymore than I am pro Palestine. While I believe in more of the arguments for Palestinians prior to 1948, I find afterward they are much to blame for many of their own problems.

Israel certainly treats them harshly today, this is not in despute with me. I don't however believe that years of initiated wars and suicide bombings Israel has adapted an attitude of hatred for their enemy and therefore treat them harshly.

Sympathizing with suicide bombers is tantamount to support for them. They are wrong and Sunday's bombings will only deepen their fears because now they wait for Israel's retaliation. Someone said the Palestinians are so miserable that they don't care anymore. I don't believe all Palestinians feel like this, and are held captive by the hatred of those who feel others should be their proving ground while they hunker down in civilian areas and refugee camps launching attacks.

I use to have so much sympathy for Palestinians myself, but after a few years of this, it sort of make you think. Certainly their leadership has been ineffective and has caused more suffering. Why Arafat didn't accept the deal Clinton proposed puzzles me to this day.

At any rate, what I fear is going to happen is Israel is going to grow weary and defy UN pressures and go in and do something desperate. It's going to trigger wide outcries from Arab nations and something terribile will happen in that region. This I don't want to see.