Hamas Founder Shrugs Off Israeli Assassination Threats

JERUSALEM — The spiritual leader of Hamas on Friday brushed aside Israeli assassination threats in the wake of a suicide bombing at the main Gaza Strip crossing that killed four Israelis.

Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin has denied having anything to do with planning terrorist attacks, although Israeli officials say he approved Wednesday’s attack, in which a 22-year-old Palestinian mother of two set off explosives at the Erez crossing -- a crucial portal between Gaza and Israel.

Yassin sounded defiant after a senior Israeli defense official warned that the leader of the militant group could be targeted for assassination.

“We do not fear the threat of death,” Yassin told reporters outside a mosque near his home in Gaza City.

In an apparent sign that he was unconcerned about appearing in public, Yassin, a quadriplegic, was wheeled to Friday prayers by an assistant. “We will not bow to pressure, and resistance will continue until the occupation is destroyed,” he said.

In his initial statement Thursday night, Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Zeev Boim said Yassin was a target, although he and others later tempered their comments.

“Sheik Yassin is marked for death, and he should hide himself deep underground where he won’t know the difference between day and night,” Boim told Army Radio. “And we will find him in the tunnels, and we will eliminate him.”

Israel has refrained from so-called targeted killings of key Hamas figures in recent months, after a spate of controversial strikes -- some successful, some not -- that killed or wounded bystanders. The tactic stirred Palestinian anger and unease among many Israelis and drew disapproval from U.S. officials, who saw it as an impediment to peace under the “road map” plan.

The Gaza attack marked the first time in months that Hamas, known formally as the Islamic Resistance Movement, has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing. The group’s military wing said it carried out the action jointly with the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, an offshoot of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement.

The attack also was believed to be the first in which Hamas had employed a woman to carry out a suicide bombing. The bomber, identified as Reem Riyashi, appeared in a videotape made before the bombing, with the Hamas flag in view.

Raanan Gissin, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, sidestepped talk of action against Yassin, putting distance between official Israeli policy and the tenor of Boim’s first statement. “I don’t know anything about Sheik Yassin. We don’t have lists of names,” he said.

But Gissin also insisted that Israel’s policy was unchanged from last year, when it made attempts on the lives of several Hamas leaders. One of those killed was Ismail abu Shanab, considered the organization’s chief political strategist, targeted by a missile in August as he drove in Gaza City.

“There hasn’t been any change,” Gissin said. “Anyone who is involved in a terrorist activity and perpetrated acts of terror or is a ‘ticking bomb’ ... we will make every effort to bring them to justice. On those rare occasions where we can’t bring people to justice, we’ll bring justice to him.”

The August strike was made in retaliation for an attack by a Hamas bomber two days earlier on a Jerusalem bus that killed 21 people. In September, Yassin suffered an injury to his hand during a botched attack -- an Israeli jet bombing of a Gaza City building where the group’s leaders were meeting.

Gissin said there have been fewer assassination attempts against Hamas figures in recent months because so many militant leaders had gone into hiding.

But the pause also was the result of Hamas suspending suicide attacks inside Israel. Israeli security officials said strikes against Hamas leaders had weakened the group’s ability to carry out bombings.

Saeb Erekat, the principal Palestinian negotiator, warned against stepped-up extrajudicial killings.

“Escalating the Israeli policy of assassinations will ... lead to more escalation and a widening of the cycle of violence, bloodshed and chaos,” he told Reuters.

Friday night, thousands of Hamas supporters marched through the streets of Gaza City in support of Yassin.

After Wednesday’s bombing, Yassin told reporters that there was no reason women could not be suicide bombers. “Jihad is the obligation of all Muslims, both men and women,” he said.

Wednesday’s bombing prompted Israel to limit crossings from Gaza into Israel to humanitarian needs.

Officials said they still had not decided when to reopen the Erez crossing but suggested that it could happen as early as Sunday -- the start of the Israeli workweek. Recently, 15,000 to 20,000 Palestinian workers were passing through Erez each day to get to their jobs in Israel. An additional 4,000 Palestinians work at an industrial park next to the crossing. It remained unclear when the industrial park would reopen.

Erez is vital to Gaza’s economy, which has been severely weakened by Israeli crackdowns during the 3 1/2-year-old Palestinian uprising. Israeli officials said they were eager to have the crossing open soon to reduce economic harm to Gaza residents.

Times wire services were used in compiling this report.