Israel is expected to resume assassination attampts of senior Hamas leaders, an Israeli security official was quoted by the press.
Top Israeli army commanders met at the Defence Ministry Thursday to consider a response to Wednesday's suicide bombing attack that killed four Israelis in Gaza Strip Crossing, the official said.
The suicide bombing on Wednesday put an end to the ”so-called quiet period”, said the Israeli air force commander, Maj. Gen. Dan Halutz.
Halutz denied that the reduction in assassination attempts was linked to a slowdown in Palestinian attacks.
“Since it is a preventive measure, it has nothing to do with the number of casualties that we have,” he told a meeting of the Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs Thursday.
Without giving details, Halutz said the air force and military intelligence have developed “pinpoint” methods to “hit only those who deserve it”.
The Israeli security official said the Hamas spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, issued a religious edict permitting women to carry out bombings, something Hamas resisted in the past, and that he personally approved Wednesday’s attack.
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
