UK condemns 'unlawful' Yassin killing

[JohnLocke]

UK condemns "unlawful" Yassin killing
by Matthew Tempest -- The Guardian
Monday, March 22, 2004
---
Tony Blair today condemned Israel's assassination of the Hamas spritual leader, Ahmed Yassin, calling it a "setback" for the peace process.
"What has happened this morning is clearly a setback," Tony Blair's official spokesman told reporters. "There is no point pretending otherwise." "It goes without saying that the prime minister also condemns today's killing. We have repeatedly made clear our opposition to Israel's use of targeted killings and assassinations.
(...)
Earlier, the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, accused the Israeli government of committing an "unlawful killing" and urged it to act within international law.
(...)
He called the missile strike, which killed the 67-year-old Hamas leader and seven other Palestinians, an "unlawful killing, which we condemn."
"It is unacceptable, it is unjustified and it is very unlikely to achieve its (Israel's) objectives."
The foreign secretary added that he did not believe that Israel would benefit from the killing of an old man in a wheelchair. The shadow foreign secretary, Michael Ancram, said Yassin's killing represented a "regrettable escalation" of violence in the Middle East.
(...)
"The killing of Sheikh Yassin in this way will put back for months any prospect of negotiation." Labour MP Joan Ruddock, who recently returned from Israel and the occupied territories, also condemned the assassination.
(...)
---
Read the rest here.

[bluesoul]

1. They're absolutely

right for a change...

[Cassandra]

6. Sheik Yassin: "We do not fear death threats. We are seekers of martyrdom."

Sought and granted. What's the problem?

[Herschel]

7. Well said, my friend

It would appear a wish has been granted.

[Jim Sagle]

69. Looks like a win, win all around. Ya gotta love it.

:party: :toast: :bounce: :beer: :dem: :kick: :donut: :headbang: :yourock:

[ugarte]

2. Yes, I'm sure the world is much safer today

Israel included. Not.

[goclark]

4. Where is the strong statement from US on this...

???????????????????

[ugarte]

9. How can Bush criticize anyone for extra-legal unilateral action?

He has totally backed himself and the U.S. into a corner. How can he criticize anything Israel does when he started an illegal war? His credibility is already zero.

[sushi]

58. He can't criticize Israel

because he doesn't want to lose Jewish votes.

[sir_captain]

64. That's crap

First of all, Jews voted 9 to 1 for Gore in the last election--by far the biggest differential of any ethnic or religious group. And second of all, it is absolutely wrong of you to suggest that American Jews are beholden to America's Israeli policy. It's amazing how often this needs to be said--Jews are people just like everyone else and we are perfectly capable of making up our own minds about any given subject, thank you very much.

[sushi]

73. You have no idea

how glad I am to be wrong. In that case, since Bush doesn't stand to lose many Jewish votes anyway, I wonder what's stopping him condemning Sharon's aggression in the strongest terms. After all innocents also died, not only Yassin. Being "deeply disturbed" is a feeble reaction.

[Comadreja]

72. Neocons welcome more violence

There was an extensive period of Israeli violence and assassinations in the beginning of the Bu$h period up to the attacks on America on 9/11. I remember thinking with alarm "Why doesn't that dimwit reign in Sharon? This will lead to something terrible." Now we find the same ploy, gutless benign neglect and tacit approval of Sharon's slap in the face of the Islamic world, not just Palestine. Another huge attack on the USA would be just what the neocons think they need to scare the public into giving up the elections and accept martial law, or at least stick with Buckaroo Bonehead.

[redqueen]

19. Was that supposed to reduce violence?

Does anyone really think this will work?

See, there's this thing called "Blowback"...

But hey, the MIC is happy!

[wtmusic]

3. Far be it from the Chimpminstration

to take a similar stance. It might be just a little too, hypocritical?

[Proudlib]

5. They Can Screw Themselves

It wasn't British citizens being blown up on buses and in resteraunts.

[Cassandra]

8. Is this sort of statement...

"The shadow foreign secretary, Michael Ancram, said Yassin's killing represented a "regrettable escalation" of violence in the Middle East."
ever said when there is a suicide/homicide bombing? Or is it just reserved for when the Israelis kill someone?
Seriously, does anyone have a link to previous statements by European political leaders that indicate as much distress about bombings?

[frylock]

10. goverments need to display more restraint than islamic fundamentalists..

and I'm sure this will put an end to the suicide bombings. :eyes:

[Cassandra]

11. If suicide/homicide bombings are not..

"regrettable escalation" of violence in the Middle East, what are they?

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[cantwealljustgetalong]

13. same to Yassin...

eom...

[Cassandra]

14. Anyone else on your list of evil countries?

Oh, what am I thinking? No other country steals, kills or lies. <sarcasm off>
"Israel deserves every bad thing that could possibly happen to it. "
Care to describe what you mean by "every bad thing"?

[Carl21014]

17. Every bad thing?

For starters, Sharon deserve to rot in hell for eternity, and all those who voted for him deserve to go with him.

[sir_captain]

18. How about Arafat?

And those who support him?

Arafat personally handed the election to Sharon when he made Barak look like a fool by refusing to even negotiate based on his peace offering.

[Carl21014]

35. I think Arafat has failed his people!

Arafat is nothing more than an excuse for Israel to continue to kill Palestinians. He's a useful tool for Sharon.

[Muddleoftheroad]

24. I see

You clearly don't have much in favor of the democratic process.

Who else should have horrible things happen to them. I don't suppose any actual terrorists are on your list?

[Carl21014]

36. I'm all for the Democratic process

Emancipate the Palestinian. Let them out of their cantons and give them the vote in the next Israeli election. Then you'll have true democracy.

[Muddleoftheroad]

37. I notice you avoided the question

Nevertheless, why give non-citizens the vote?

[Carl21014]

40. Well you make them citizens first!

After you let them out of their cages that is.

Israel obviously never intends to return the land they stole. So if they truly fancy themselves as a democracy they need to grant citizenship and human rights to the indigenous people.

Calling Israel a democracy as it exists today(with the majority of it's inhabitants excluded from the process) is a complete farce.

[Name removed]

41. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sir_captain]

43. I think it's pretty awful

to say anyone deserves death.

But under your criteria, what do the Palestinian people deserve for voting for Arafat?

[Name removed]

46. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sir_captain]

42. Just out of curiosity

Why aren't you harping on Jordan? Most of historical Palestine is located in present day Jordan, after all. And much (though certainly not all, and the current abominable settlements also excluded) of the land Israel was granted in 1948 *was* uninhabited arid desert.

[Carl21014]

44. Well if Israel is going to hand the West Bank over...

to Jordan, then I would harp on Jordan.

Actually, I think you have a fantastic idea. The way the West Bank has been carved up I don't see how a nation is viable. But if it were to become part of Jordan it could work.

[sir_captain]

45. I don't think you got my point

I'm all for handing over the west bank, but that's a side issue.

I was saying that most of historical palestine is within jordan's present day boundaries. ie, most of the land that "belongs" to the Palestinian people isn't even under Israeli control. So why isn't there a demand of right of return to Jordan? Or an intifada against Jordan? I don't understand...

[Carl21014]

48. I'm concerned with the people who live there!

I don't care who claims them, or what you call the land under them. I just want them to be treated with dignity and to posess the basic human rights we all take for granted and that they have never known.

[GabysPoppy]

47. You conveniently forget Black September

But why am I surprised

:shrug:

[Aussie_Hillbilly]

71. Amen to that!

[redqueen]

22. You *do* know that's the rallying cry for Al Qaeda against the US

don't you?

An aggressive response to aggression will not stop the violence. We MUST stop this cycle.

[Gimel]

57. Transcend the cycle

of birth and death. Achieve Nirvana! It is highly recommended.

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[redqueen]

25. "the children"

Why insult people? Do you think it helps build bridges of understanding? That's the only way to stop the violence, you know. Further alienation only guarantees more death and destruction.

Take your pick.

[Muddleoftheroad]

26. Stopping the violence

You misunderstood or I was insufficiently clear. The folks I referenced are those who ran away from here and formed their own club.

[redqueen]

27. You mean the folks you insulted, not referenced

You only referenced them via insult. Why? Does it help?

And whether they are here or not, I'm willing to wager there are those still here who know who you're talking about, and identify with their views more than yours. So you're still adding to hostilities no matter if they're here or not.

[GabysPoppy]

28. The folks he was referencing

were those people who couldn't control their hidden feelings and expressed them verbally.

And those here still in sympathy with those particular views should also.............

[redqueen]

29. I'm not in this forum much

So I have no idea what you're talking about.

If you'd care to speak plainly, maybe I could understand.

[GabysPoppy]

30. Hang around

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[redqueen]

39. Still not getting it

:shrug:

[Name removed]

31. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[PsychoDad]

51. "expressed them verbally"

And we wouldn't want to see an opposing viewpoint to that of Hasbara would we. So what's the solution? Get rid of them...

Because of that attitude DU has banned some very good and Intelligent posters. None of whic I ever saw do anything as vile as the glee I have seen here by some over a dead Palistinian child.

[GabysPoppy]

52. actually it wasn't an opposing viewpoint to that of Hasbara

they were actually quite anti-Semitic in nature.

You would not call them intelligent by any stretch of the imagination.

And they had nothing to do with criticism of the Government of Israel or the Prime Minister or his party, just in case you were wondering.

They were quite out of place for a progressive board.

[Name removed]

54. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

59. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Violet_Crumble]

60. And?

Why are you telling *me* I have 'no freaking idea' when it was the poster I was replying to who was claiming they know why all those people get banned? Or did you just respond to the wrong post and you really didn't mean to reply to me? ;)

Violet...

[Lithos]

61. You are correct

Only mods and admins know why people were banned. Most of what has been said by people has been only speculation and incorrect.

L-

[JohnLocke]

67. Heh.

Don't I know it.

[Noon_Blue_Apples]

75. well, reading the statement from Lithos

No you don't

[Name removed]

55. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bluesoul]

56. How about those

that are actually quite anti-Muslim anti-Palestinian and show their hatred in every way from the pro-I team?

[Noon_Blue_Apples]

65. sorry, wrong avatar

no response for you

[GabysPoppy]

66. And a number of people making anti-Muslim remarks were also banned

However that may not have registered with you for some reason. Maybe it doesn't fit your preconceived ideas.

:shrug:

[Name removed]

62. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[PsychoDad]

50. They didn't run away...

They were banned for their views.

[JohnLocke]

68. They were NOT banned for their views.

[Scurrilous]

53. Just because some people...

...want to leave the friendly confines of DU and form their own locked forum at MSN Groups, doesn't necessarily mean that they are children or that they ran away. Right? Or are you talking about a different group?

[Noon_Blue_Apples]

74. maybe I'll stop getting these 'cryptic' messages

from team I members and mods 'wondering' about relationships between posters and what not.

For some reason people of like mind getting together is a bad thing.

unless your Israeli

[Carl21014]

38. Just keep in mind...

for every dead Israeli there are three dead Palistinians.

[Aussie_Hillbilly]

70. That is so unfair

*** Israel murders, oppresses and humiliates the Palestinian people on a daily basis. There's no such thing as an innocent Israel. When the Israeli people elected "The Butcher" Sharon (who was found responsible by the Israeli government for massacres) they knew they were voting for killing, killing, and more killing. ***

Not all Israelis are like Sharon and his kind. There are many Israelis who want peace as much as any Palestinian. There are many Israeli peace organisations like Gush Shalom.

Other Israelis vote Likud because they are afraid. The media in their country constantly bombards them with images of the Holocaust and the promise that it will happen again if Israel shows any mercy or humanity or respect for the rule of law. According to the Israeli media the whole world is anti-semitic for no reason at all, and reports of the horror Israelis are inflicting on the Palestinians is nothing more than an excuse. You can find these sentiments on any Israeli media outlet site.

Sure, there are some like Ariel Sharon who enjoy killing and glory in the hatred they inspire everywhere else in the world. There are people like that in every country, but only in a country living in terror would they be elected.

Suicide bombings are amazingly counterproductive. They allow the Israeli Right to maintain its grip on power no matter how much harm they inflict on their people. They also allow Palestinians as a people to be demonised and painted as faceless, inhuman monsters with inexplicable demands. You will find people even on DU who believe this even as they denounce as racist the application of these beliefs to any other people. Many Israelis feel that they have to support the Ariel Sharon government or get out. I have met a few Israelis in Australia seeking residency here to get away from the Middle East.

International sanctions, diplomatic pressure and UN soldiers to enforce security for both peoples is IMO the only way to break the cycle.

[sir_captain]

15. No, you see,

that would require objectivity

[tinnypriv]

16. You are aware

That Michael Ancram is a complete hawk on every conceivable issue?

And a rightist? (i.e. the equivalent of a Republican)

And that he's called suicide bombings against Israelis "indiscriminate horrors"?

:dunce:

Oh, and a few extra icons for calling this guy (try looking him up) a "European political leader". He'd call himself British. He's very much opposed to much of the integration and joint policy of the EU, and that ain't the half of it.

:dunce: :dunce: :dunce:

[Cassandra]

21. Thanks for the info.

I wasn't so much calling him a European political leader, as I was asking anyone looking for the information to not limit themselves only to him or to the British. I'm sure I would find Ancram miserable company, but I wasn't the one who mentioned him in the first place. And not following the minutiae of British politics does not make me a dunce (and why do you keep saying that when I have better educational credentials than you do?). When I need information about British politicians, I always have you, don't I? :loveya:

[Name removed]

32. Deleted message

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[Cassandra]

34. Did I ask you?

And I was actually paying attention in class; unlike *. I just wasn't studying PoliSci.

[Noon_Blue_Apples]

76. oh sorry, are my 'credentials' not up to snuff

for you?

[tinnypriv]

63. Aw

:loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya: :loveya:

BTW: Don't put your faith in google. Just a hint.

[Name removed]

20. Deleted message

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[cantwealljustgetalong]

49. according to lying pimp, Jack Straw...

"It is unacceptable, it is unjustified and it is very unlikely to achieve its (Israel's) objectives."

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/foreignaffairs/story/0,11538,1175312,00.html


"When young people go to their deaths, we can all feel a degree of compassion for those youngsters. They must be so misguided and depressed to do this"
"But behind those people are some very evil terrorist leaders who do not put their own lives on the line when they are making sure that others' lives are ended"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/06/20/nmid20.xml


"One thing I am clear about is that al-Qaida will go on and would have gone on irrespective of the war in Iraq, until they are firmly stopped."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/spain/article/0,2763,1169726,00.html


make up your mind, you hypocritical shithead...