I had to laugh out loud today when reading that EU ministers had condemned Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Sheikh Yassin as “unacceptable.” British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said,
[Israel has a right to defend itself] But it is not entitled going for this kind of unlawful killing and we therefore condemn it. It is unacceptable. It is unjustified and it is very unlikely to achieve its objective. A measurable restraint is required and I don’t believe Israel will benefit from the fact that this morning an elderly man in a wheelchair has been the target of assassination.
“Leaders” throughout Germany echoed that sentiment, with some of them apparently afraid that Israel’s killing of a Hamas terrorist might lead to Madrid-style terrorist attacks in Europe.
Yassin, of course, is believed by Israel to have personally approved a number of the worst terrorist attacks on Israel by Hamas, including the attack on a discotechque in 2001 that killed 21 people. Despite his being confined to a wheelchair, Yassin has never failed to extol the virtues of Hamas terrorism.
Apparently the European view is that Jews in Israel should follow the same old script — sit around waiting to be murdered by terrorists and other extremists.
Source:
Europe condemns Israeli killing of Hamas leader. Middle East Online, March 22, 2004.