HAMAS LEADER'S RELEASE LINKED TO ASSASSINATION TRY IN JORDAN.Byline: Serge Schmemann Serge Schmemann (born April 12, 1945) is a writer and Editorial Page Editor of the International Herald Tribune. Earlier in his career, he worked for the Associated Press and was a bureau chief and editor for the New York Times. The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times In the hours after Sheik Ahmed Yassin Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Yassin ( - 2004 ( 0 years old)) (Arabic: الشيخ أحمد ياسين , the spiritual leader of Hamas, was flown from an Israeli prison to Jordan early Wednesday morning, the Israeli and Jordanian press have produced growing evidence that his release was part of a secret deal to placate King Hussein after an Israeli attempt to assassinate as·sas·si·nate tr.v. as·sas·si·nat·ed, as·sas·si·nat·ing, as·sas·si·nates 1. To murder (a prominent person) by surprise attack, as for political reasons. 2. a Hamas leader in Jordan. Israel and Jordan continued to maintain that the sheik was released on humanitarian grounds, and neither would confirm that Mossad, the Israeli secret service, had attempted an assassination Assassination See also Murder. assassins Fanatical Moslem sect that smoked hashish and murdered Crusaders (11th—12th centuries). [Islamic Hist.: Brewer Note-Book, 52] Brutus conspirator and assassin of Julius Caesar. [Br. in Amman, the Jordanian capital. But Channel 2 television in Israel carried what it described as an authoritative account of a bizarre story that began Sept. 25 with the attempted poisoning of the political leader of Hamas, Khaled Mashaal, on an Amman street; continued with the chase and arrest of two alleged Mossad agents posing as Canadian tourists; then moved on to feverish negotiations between Israel and Jordan over the weekend, and concluded with the release of Yassin. The Channel 2 account followed similar leaks in the Israeli press, while in Jordan, the government-owned newspaper Ar-Rai reported that the two ``Canadian citizens'' were Mossad agents. Jordanian accounts also noted that several hours before the sheik was released, Hussein made a speech in which he referred to the attack on Mashaal and also called for the release of Yassin. Though the king did not draw a connection, the juxtaposition was seen as further evidence of a deal. If true, the affair is an embarrassment to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to Mossad. There is no clear reason why Israelis would have tried to assassinate Mashaal, though Israel has intensified operations against Hamas since two suicide bombings in July and September. Yassin, who has been paralyzed par·a·lyze tr.v. par·a·lyzed, par·a·lyz·ing, par·a·lyz·es 1. To affect with paralysis; cause to be paralytic. 2. To make unable to move or act: paralyzed by fear. since an accident in his youth, was one of the most prominent Palestinian prisoners in Israel, and stands as a symbol of Islamic resistance. A founder of Hamas, also known as the Islamic Resistance Movement Noun 1. Islamic Resistance Movement - a militant Islamic fundamentalist political movement that opposes peace with Israel and uses terrorism as a weapon; seeks to create an Islamic state in place of Israel; is opposed to the PLO and has become a leading perpetrator of , he was arrested by Israel in 1989 and sentenced to life imprisonment Imprisonment See also Isolation. Alcatraz Island former federal maximum security penitentiary, near San Francisco; “escapeproof.” [Am. Hist.: Flexner, 218] Altmark, the German prison ship in World War II. [Br. Hist. for involvement in attacks on Israelis. In the convoluted world of Middle Eastern politics, his release was taken as a political blow by Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority. While Arafat publicly welcomed the move, his lieutenants made no secret of their frustration that Hussein was getting credit for it, rather than the Palestinian Authority. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion