Israel's Failed Hamas Assasination Condemned

PNA Strongly Condemns Failed Israeli Assassination of Hamas Leader

The Palestine National Authority (PNA) strongly condemned the Israeli extra-judicial assassination attempt on the life of Hamas leader Abdul Aziz Al-Rantisi in Gaza City early Tuesday as a premeditated operation to torpedo international efforts to reactivate the peace process.

Abdul Aziz Al-Rantisi's car ablaze after Israeli Forces attempted an assasination on the Hamas leader.

“We will carefully study the matter and will take the appropriate measures,” said the PNA Minister of Information Nabil Amr.

“We strongly condemn” the Israeli assassination attempt, he added.

Amr considered the failed assassination an Israeli premeditated attempt to torpedo international efforts to reactivate the peace process with the PNA.

“Israel is premeditatedly operating to hinder the international efforts in the peace process,” he said.

Similarly the PNA Minister of Cabinet Affairs Yasser Abed Rabbo said that the Israeli attack against al-Rantisi “is effectively an attack against the (US-sponsored) ‘roadmap’” peace plan.

Abed Rabbo added that the Israeli attack “aims at sabotaging all efforts being undertaken by the Palestinian government to start Palestinian dialogue” to reach an end to violence.

Last Wednesday Palestinian and Israeli premiers Mahmoud Abbas and Ariel Sharon met in a summit meeting with the US President George W. Bush in the Jordanian city port of Aqaba and publicly pledged to commit to the US-sponsored and internationally – adopted “roadmap” to peace in the Middle East.

The Israeli failed attempt on the life of of Hamas’ leader Abdul Aziz Al-Rantisi in Gaza comes only a day ahead of a visit by the head of the Egyptian intelligence Omar Sulaiman to Ramallah to mediate a truce agreement between the Abbas’ government and Hamas.

Hamas on Monday welcomed Abbas’ renewed invitation for inter-Palestinian national dialogue and announced it was reconsidering the suspension of talks with his government.

The assassination attempt also comes only a day after PM Abbas announced that “the alternative to dialogue is dialogue” with the Palestinian opposition groups.

Al-Rantissi was lightly wounded, together with his son Ahmad, in an Israeli helicopter strike on Gaza City, Palestinian officials say.

Rantissi's jeep was driving down a busy city street when it was hit by several missiles and burst into flames, the sources said.

Rantissi is one of the top political leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement “Hamas” in Gaza Strip.

At least three persons were killed, including a bystander mother and her daughter, at the scene and Dr Moawiya Hassanain, director of Gaza City's Shifa Hospital, said 27 people were wounded in the US-made Apache gunship raid.

Massive plumes of smoke rose into the sky from the burnt-out wreckage of Rantissi's car, according to the Associated Press who said that as many as seven rockets were fired.

The PNA and Hamas have repeatedly said that one of the conditions of establishing halt to violence was an end to the Israeli extra-judicially targeted killings of Palestinian activists against the Israeli 36-year old occupation.

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