Targeting Terrorists: OK for U.S. But Not Israel?
As world leaders rightly applaud and congratulate the United States on the death of Osama Bin-Laden and the evil he represented, it is well worth remembering that these are the same leaders who also condemned Israel when it did the same to Hamas terror mastermind Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 2004.
Bin Laden, of course, needs no introduction.
But some background to Sheikh Yassin. Yassin was the founder and spiritual leader of Hamas, a group sworn to Israel’s destruction and which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, UK, Canada and many other countries.
Yassin was directly involved in planning, orchestrating and personally ordering countless terrorist bombings, rocket attacks and suicide operations by Hamas. These attacks resulted in the deaths of hundreds of innocent Israelis, in addition to many foreigners – including Americans and Europeans. As a percentage of its population, many more Israelis were killed at the hands of Yassin than those who tragically died on September 11.
Although Hamas and al-Qaeda may differ on points of theology and tactics, they have always been united for one particular purpose – their common hatred of Jews and Israel. Indeed, Hamas was even one of the sole groups to condemn the United States for the killing of Bin Laden, with Hamas PM Ismail Haniyeh, calling him an “Arab holy warrior” and accusing the United States of pursuing a policy based on "oppression and the shedding of Arab and Muslim blood".
Yassin was killed by an Israeli Air Force missile strike on his car on March 22nd, 2004, which also took out several other Hamas terrorists.
For all intents and purposes, Bin Laden and Yassin were one and the same person. They represented the same hatred, evil and abhorrence for human life. Their hands were bloodied with the deaths of thousands of innocent people. Yet, the reactions of world leaders to their deaths could not have been any different.
This is just a sample...
United Nations:
2011 – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon:
The death of Osama bin Laden is a watershed moment in our common global fight against terrorism.
2004 – UN Secretary General Kofi Annan:
I do condemn the targeted assassination of Sheikh Yassin and the others who died with him. Such actions are not only contrary to international law, but they do not do anything to help the search for a peaceful solution.
European Union:
2011 – EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton:
I would like to congratulate the US, pay tribute to its determination and efficiency in reducing the threat posed by terrorists and underline the close cooperation between the EU and US in the fight against terrorism.
2004 – EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana:
This type of action does not contribute at all to create the conditions of peace. This is very, very bad news for the peace process. The policy of the European Union has been consistently condemnation of extra-judicial killing.
Britain:
2011 – British PM David Cameron:
The news that Osama bin Laden is dead will bring great relief to people across the world. It is a great success that he has been found and will no longer be able to pursue his campaign of global terror.
2004 – British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw:
The British government has made it repeatedly clear that the so-called targeted assassinations of this kind are unlawful, unjustified and counterproductive.
France:
2011 – French President Nicolas Sarkozy congratulated President Obama on his “determination” to hunt down Osama bin Laden, saying:
The scourge of terrorism has suffered a historic defeat but it's not the end of al-Qaeda.
2004 – French President Jacques Chirac:
We condemn the act conducted against Sheikh Yassin because it was against international law.
Palestinian Authority:
2011 – PA spokesman Ghassan Khatib:
Getting rid of bin Laden is good for the cause of peace worldwide.
2004 – Palestinian President Yasser Arafat declared three days of mourning and closed Palestinian schools, while Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei described it as a “dangerous, cowardly act”, calling it:
[O]ne of the biggest crimes that the Israeli government has committed.
Russia, Italy, Germany, Jordan, China, Turkey and just about every significant nation in the world has applauded the death of Bin Laden as a major victory in the global war on terror – but condemned Israel on the death of Sheikh Yassin.
I guess every nation has the right to target a terrorist mastermind responsible for some of the most unspeakable carnage against its citizens – of course, unless that nation is Israel. Double standards and hypocrisy anyone?
Tweet