Israel targets Hamas leader after bomb attack

A SENIOR Israeli official warned that the founder of the Islamic militant group Hamas, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, was “marked for death”.

But he and other officials later that said any decision to kill Yassin would need approval from the prime minister.

Yassin, a quadriplegic, appeared in public on Friday and scoffed at the official's warnings. "We do not fear the threat of death," said Yassin, as an assistant pushed his wheelchair to a Gaza City mosque.

Israeli security officials met earlier this week at the Defence Ministry to discuss a response to Wednesday's Hamas bombing in Gaza, in which a female suicide attacker killed four Israeli soldiers. One Israeli official said targeted killings of senior Hamas members are likely to resume, after a lull of several months.

Deputy Defence Minister Zeev Boim went even further, naming Yassin as a target for assassination. But he later softened his comments, saying no specific decision was made to kill Yassin.

Israel has assassinated a number of Hamas commanders but killing the Islamic movement's spiritual leader, respected even by many Palestinians who do not support Hamas, would be likely provoke revenge bombings.

Since the peace process began, Israel has refrained from targeting the very top of the Palestinian leadership. It has threatened to "remove" Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, a wording that suggested it would either exile or kill him. But it has refrained from doing either, partly because of US opposition.

Yassin spoke to reporters outside the mosque: "We will not bow to pressure and resistance will continue until the occupation is destroyed."

He said he was not personally involved in planning attacks, denying allegations by Israeli security officials that he had approved Wednesday's bombing.

Israeli officials also said Yassin issued a religious ruling allowing women to become bombers, after Hamas initially recruited only male assailants.

Late Thursday, after the security meeting at the Defence Ministry the previous day, Mr Boim said Yassin is a key target.

"Sheik Yassin is marked for death, and he should hide himself deep underground where he won't know the difference between day and night. And we will find him in the tunnels, and we will eliminate him," Mr Boim said.

Israeli officials have said in the past they would go after Hamas leaders in retaliation for deadly bombings, but Boim's comment marked the first time a senior official spoke in public about a particular militant being targeted.

Several security officials also said Yassin was not singled out in the discussions at the Defence Ministry. Killing the Hamas founder would require approval by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the officials said.

Asked about the possibility of targeting Yassin, Sharon's senior adviser, Raanan Gissin, said: "We never comment on specific cases".

Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi said an attack on Yassin would also boost support for militants among the Palestinians.

Yassin, who founded Hamas in 1987 and spent several years in Israeli prisons, already dodged one Israeli attempt to kill him in September.

A warplane dropped a 550-pound bomb on a building where he and other Hamas leaders were meeting, but Yassin escaped with just a small wound to his hand.