President condemns Israeli attack that killed Hamas leader and 14 others

Associated Press / SFGate

[RCW2001]

SCOTT LINDLAW, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, July 23, 2002
©2002 Associated Press

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/07/23/national1018EDT0556.DTL

(07-23) 07:41 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --

President Bush denounced as "heavy-handed" an Israeli warplane's missile attack on a Gaza City apartment building, which killed a Hamas leader at the top of Israel's most-wanted list and at least 14 other Palestinians, including nine children.

"This heavy-handed action does not contribute to peace," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Tuesday, pointing to "the loss of innocent life."

"This message will be conveyed to Israeli authorities, and the United States regrets the loss of life," the spokesman said.

Fleischer rejected comparisons between the missile strike and American attacks in Afghanistan that have killed civilians.

"It is inaccurate to compare the two, because the United States, because of an errant bomb, a mistake in a mission, has occasionally engaged in military action that we very regrettably included losses of innocent lives," Fleischer said.

"This was a deliberate attack on the site, knowing that innocents would be lost in the consequences of the attack," he said, adding that Bush still remained a strong backer of Israel.

With his condemnation, the White House joined European and Arab nations who called the strike irresponsible and denounced the civilian deaths.

The Israeli Embassy responded to the White House criticism with a defense of the targeting of the leader of Hamas' military wing.

"Like the government of the United states, the government of Israel regrets the loss of innocent civilian lives," spokesman Mark Regev said. "However, out military action against one of the most dangerous Hamas terrorist leaders was a justified action of self-defense."

Palestinians vowed revenge as they dug through wreckage from the strike, which obliterated a three-story building and destroyed or badly damaged several adjacent ones.

The attack killed Salah Shehadeh, 48, a founder and the top commander of Hamas' military wing, known as Izzadine el-Qassam, the group said. The group has carried out scores of attacks, including more suicide bombings than any other Palestinian faction in the current Mideast conflict.

"This operation was in my view one of our biggest successes," Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told Cabinet ministers. "We hit perhaps the most senior Hamas figure on the operational side," Sharon said of Shehadeh, who was jailed first by Israel, and then by the Palestinians, from 1988 to 1999.

But by firing a powerful missile into a densely packed neighborhood in the middle of the night, civilian casualties were a certainty, Palestinians said.

©2002 Associated Press  

[bert]

I concur. There were no innocents lost in the attack.

[MinuteGal]

Your comment in #16 is blasphemous and a discredit to this forum. Take your vileness to your coven meeting, not here.

Leni

[Robear]

Why should the U.S. or Israel give a *uck what the press thinks. You don't run a war assuaging the press. How on Earth would we have won WWII if we cared about the press' opinion how it was being fought. This is ridiculous. Remove the press from any war zones. That the U.S. or Israel won't be committng atrocities is a given IMHO. Look at how Islam views life, compared to the U.S. and Israel. Reality check.

[American in Israel]

Your wrong on this one. This was chacking a walnut with a steamroller

Oh, Gee, Dubya, want us to do it your way? Lend us a daisy cutter and we will make a 1200 YARD diameter circle in the middle of the city full of gravel.

(What a hypocrite...)

[Robear]

He created the darkness and the light. Who else is ultimately responsible.

[mhking]

"This heavy-handed action does not contribute to peace," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Tuesday, pointing to "the loss of innocent life."

Sometimes, Ari, 'tis better to keep yer mouth shut and look the other way...

While I mourn for the children and other innocents lost, I have to keep thinking about the fact that these are people who would rather see all of us dead - witness 9/11.

[willgetsome]

Rifle? Poison? Booby-trap? Raid?

[mel]

Hehehe! It's funny too- they want to be martyrs when it's on THEIR terms. But when they get blown up by the Israelis, it's just wrong. Fools. Exactly, it amazes me that Palestinians can kill, anyone, yet when Israel defends her people, it is the absolute worse thing that can happen. Palestinians are simply a few bricks short of a load or their elevators don't go to the top.

[MinuteGal]

He also gave us free choice. We have chosen to fight evil.

Leni

[ml/nj]

Quite frankly, Bush really ought to stop pandering to those murderous heathens! The Israelis are engaged in a war. War is no respector of innocence! And it is idiotic to presume otherwise! I think that the Israelis did a great job! I think that the Israeli Intelligence and Military ought to be commended for their accuracy and effectiveness!

Hear! Hear! (or maybe: Read! Read! in this case.)

ML/NJ

[American in Israel]

I see you missed the entire first part of the post. And I see you don't understand the construct of the 2nd part.

I see he also missed the entire point of the first part of the bible and I also see he misunderstands the construct of the last part. (grin)

[DSHambone]

How on Earth would we have won WWII if we cared about the press' opinion how it was being fought

We were a pretty xenophobic lot in the 40's - Japs & Jerrys, Huns & Nips could be found in all our papers and radio reports. War fought without political consideration leaves you with consequences that last centuries - The Crusades, Sherman & the Georgia thing, & the Rape of Nanking come to mind.

[Tribune7]

I'm inclined to agree. What's Bush going to say? They should of killed more? Israel got what they want. The bad guy is dead. It's not going to hurt them to stand a little public grief.

Those seriously critiizing Israel should remember that this guy was behind the murders of a lot of Jewish women and children, and was likely planning more.

[goodieD]

What gets me on here is how many people buy into the Pali line of "they killed babies and old people" They might not be LYING or anything just to make people feel sorry for them...but I guess it's perfectly fine for THEM to blow up innocents...but any retaliation should be pristine...bad guys only? NO WAY.
And shame on the President for addressing this at all.. I'm getting tired of him trying to pander to everyone at once.

[bray]

You can bet that every one of those so called innocent civilians would be happy to strap a bomb to their chests and blow up a school bus full of children. Every one of them can say hello to their great leader...Satan and burn for eternity. Sorry GW, these were evil people.

Pray for GW and the Truth

[Centurion2000]

President Bush denounced as "heavy-handed" an Israeli warplane's missile attack on a Gaza City apartment building, which killed a Hamas leader at the top of Israel's most-wanted list and at least 14 other Palestinians, including nine children

Bush is losing it, or being corrupted. You don't play paddy cakes with terrorists and their allies.

[goodieD]

and you on the otherhand....support anything the Palestinians do, blowing up women and children on buses and in the marketplace is just fine and dandy for the "oppressed people" to "overcome their opressors". Talk about greasy..better start looking in the mirror, terrorist lover.

[JoeGar]

President Bush denounced as "heavy-handed" an Israeli warplane's missile attack on a Gaza City apartment building, which killed a Hamas leader at the top of Israel's most-wanted list and at least 14 other Palestinians, including nine children.

Israel should have been "heavy handed" like this long ago. If you are such a wussie that you need to hide behind women and children, then you will cause the loss of women and children.

[dead]

I agree with you. This operation was a political loser, and I'll bet Israel knows it.

A little more intelligence, and they could have taken out this dirtbag with a sniper or a car bomb.

[old school]

You must live in a very neat, sterile world, where everything is just so! A place where nothing is impossible if you simply wish it to be so. I've been around the world but I've never been to such a place. I know war though! And it ain't what you might envision!