Sixty prominent Palestinian officials and intellectuals on Thursday called on the public to refrain from retaliatory attacks following Israel's assassination of Hamas spiritual leader and founder, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, saying it would ignite a new round of violence that would only hurt Palestinian hopes for independence.
A half-page advertisement in the Al-Ayyam dailed urged Palestinians to lay down their arms and turn to peaceful means of protest to end Israel's 37 year occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The intellectuals who signed Thursday's ad - including lawmaker Hanan Ashrawi and Abbas Zaki, a leading member of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement - said revenge attacks would lead to a strong Israeli retaliation and further hurt the Palestinian cause.
The group called on the public to "rise again in a peaceful, wise intifada (uprising)." They asked the public to reconsider the benefits of a violent struggle.
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
