Khaled al-Hariri/Reuters
The bombed-out vehicle in which Izzideen al-Sheik Khalil, a Hamas official, died on Sunday. Syria said he had no role in Hamas affairs there.
Posted on 09/26/2004 10:44:40 PM PDT by neverdem
CAIRO, Sept. 26 - An official of the militant organization Hamas was killed Sunday when his sport utility vehicle exploded in a neighborhood of Damascus, the Syrian capital, heavily populated by Palestinian refugees.
Syria and Hamas officials quickly blamed Israel for the killing of the official, Izzideen al-Sheik Khalil, calling the car bomb a new phase in the Israeli government's assassinations of Hamas leaders.
The Syrian government issued a terse statement through SANA, the official Syrian news agency, denying that Mr. Khalil had played any active role in Hamas affairs while in Syria.
"This terrorist operation constitutes a dangerous development for which Israel bears responsibility,'' said the statement, attributed to an unidentified official. "It reaffirms Israel's intentions to destabilize security and stability in the region at a time that both international and regional efforts are being exerted to ease that tension."
Ahmed Haj Ali, an adviser to the Syrian information minister, called the killing a "terrorist and cowardly act."
Speaking on Al Jazeera, the Arab satellite television network, Mr. Ali said the attack showed that there was no limit to Israel's aggression and suggested that the Syrian government would find a way to respond, to show that it was "not open to criminals to carry out such acts."
Israel's government declined to say whether it had committed the bombing. However, Israeli authorities have stepped up threats against Hamas since the group carried out a double suicide bombing on Aug. 31 that killed 16 people on two buses in Beersheba, in southern Israel.
Raanan Gissin, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, reiterated those threats on Sunday, saying that "just because Hamas leaders are operating from Damascus, this does not grant them immunity.'' He added, "There are no geographical boundaries when it comes to fighting terror."
Mr. Khalil, he said, "lives in a rough neighborhood, and he must consider that what he does to others might happen to him."
In Damascus, witnesses said Mr. Khalil had entered the Mitsubishi sport utility vehicle around 11:15 a.m. and had traveled about 10 yards when a huge explosion ripped the car apart, killing him and wounding two passers-by. The impact shattered windows in the neighborhood and heavily damaged vehicles nearby.
"His body was just torn fragments," one witness said.
"We will continue to resist the occupation, and this operation will not change our path," Mohamed Nazal, a representative from the Hamas political office in Beirut, said on Al Jazeera.
Hamas had other, conflicting reactions. One statement issued in the occupied territories threatened retaliation against Israelis outside their country, while others said Hamas would study the situation before deciding on any response.
Mr. Khalil, 42, a father of two, was born in Gaza City and was among hundreds of Hamas militants deported to Lebanon from the occupied territories in 1992. He moved to Syria three years ago. Syria has repeatedly denied allegations by Israel and the United States that Hamas members there plan the suicide attacks against Israeli targets.
In the last four years of Middle East fighting, Israel has tracked down and killed dozens of Palestinian leaders involved in violence. Israel usually acknowledges responsibility for killings in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, areas it has occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
As with the unusual Israeli air raid on what is suspected of being a Palestinian training camp north of Damascus last October, the Sharon government would have several reasons for hitting a Palestinian target outside the occupied territories.
Israel has already assassinated the major Hamas leaders in the areas it controls, and the campaign against terror declared by the United States has lowered the barrier to attacking targets across borders.
Michael B. Oren, a historian at the Shalem Center, a research institute in Jerusalem, said he believed that Israel was behind the bombing and that it could become more active in Syria.
"I think this is something we'll see more of because there is a paucity of Hamas targets in the West Bank and Gaza," he said.
Such attacks also increase the pressure on Arab states to try to bring militant groups to heel.
But Syria and other Arab governments frequently point out that Israel and the United States disregard the larger issue - that extremist violence is likely to thrive as long as Israel continues to occupy Arab lands.
Syria, which long ago lost the arms race with Israel, is not likely to make a direct military response. In the past, it has responded through proxy forces like Hezbollah in Lebanon. However, it could also respond by making life more difficult for American forces in Iraq.
The United States has stepped up pressure on Syria, long accusing it of supporting terrorism. Since the American-led invasion of Iraq last year the United States has repeatedly demanded that Syria seal its border to extremist infiltrators. But over the weekend, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell suggested that Damascus had adopted a more "helpful" attitude on the issue in recent talks at the United Nations.
Greg Myre contributed reporting from Jerusalem for this article.
Khaled al-Hariri/Reuters
The bombed-out vehicle in which Izzideen al-Sheik Khalil, a Hamas official, died on Sunday. Syria said he had no role in Hamas affairs there.
That blowed up real good.
Looks like the tires are still good!
He who lives by the car bomb, will die by the car bomb.
And the grill guard! ;)
Amazing that Israel could strike insided Damascus. If it was Israel.
They should all go back to riding camels. It's hard to hide a bomb on a camel.
But the windshield washer bottle is all shot to hell. I'll get Ernie to order one up on that internet thang.
Oh, WHEW!!! . . . It's just a Mitsubishi! . . . I was worried someone blew up a nice SUV.
"Ahmed Haj Ali, an adviser to the Syrian information minister, called the killing a 'terrorist and cowardly act.'"
Coming from the experts on terrorist and cowardly acts...
Not enough to spread on toast.
Maybe he picked up the keys to the wrong company car.
My thought was, it's a good advert for Kuhmo tires.
Ouch.
I wonder how Israel manages to track these guys down so often and we have trouble with guys like Zarqauwi.
This explosion was obviously all the SUV's fault.
John Kerry, are you listening?
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