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PA ministers with terror ties not immune to assassination
By Haaretz Service and Reuters
01/29/06 "Haaretz
" -- -- Former Shin Bet chief and political newcomer Avi Dichter said on
Sunday that Israel should hunt down wanted Hamas leaders even if
they become ministers in a newly elected Palestinian government.
Dichter, who is seen as a frontrunner for a top security post
after general elections, said he doubted Palestinian Authority
Chairman Mahmoud Abbas would remain in power, except as a
"puppet leader", following Hamas's election victory.
"(Abbas) knows very well that he's going to find himself in a
high-noon situation, and I'm sure that he is fully aware of the
fact that he is not going to be the last man standing," said
Dichter.
He said Abbas may resign, or Hamas leaders could replace him
with one of their own or another figurehead.
Dichter no longer holds a policy-making position but he wields
clout within Kadima, founded by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
before his Jan. 4 stroke.
Speaking to reporters at Kadima's campaign headquarters in Petah
Tikva, Dichter said Hamas's crushing victory over Abbas's
long-dominant Fatah party in Wednesday's parliamentary election
amounted to a "revolution" that caught everyone by surprise.
Dichter warned that violence between Hamas and Fatah gunmen
could spread, and said Israel should wait and see what unfolds
before deciding how to proceed.
Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Sunday Israel would
boycott a Palestinian government that includes Hamas, whose
charter calls for the destruction of the Jewish state.
Dichter singled out by name senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniya
when asked whether Hamas leaders-turned-ministers would be
targeted for assassination despite their possible new roles in a
democratically-elected government.
"If tomorrow Ismail Haniya will become the minister of whatever,
of health, he'll continue to be the generator of terror attacks
from the Gaza Strip," Dichter said.
"If we'll come to arrest him, terrorists will not get any
immunity just because he is a minister. It's not going to be a
shelter," Dichter said.
Under Dichter's leadership, Israel expanded a policy of targeted
killings of Palestinians believed to have been orchestrating
terrorist attacks as a key strategy against the second intifada.
Mofaz: If Hamas continues terror, targeted killings will persist
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Saturday that if Hamas
continues involvement in terrorist activities, Israel will
continue a policy of targeted assassinations against Hamas
officials.
"No one is immune to a military response, even if they are in
the ruling party," Mofaz said on Channel Two's "Meet the Press."
© Copyright 2006 Haaretz. All rights reserved
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