Israeli Rocket Kills Hamas Leader

Abdel Aziz Rantisi, the leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, was killed in Gaza City in the evening of April 17 by an Israeli missile strike.

The targeted killing of Rantisi, which followed the assassination of Hamas group founder Ahmed Yassin (March 22) and President of the United States George W. Bush’s endorsement of the Israeli settlement plan (April 14), has fueled the relationship between Palestine and Israel to its worst situation yet.

After the killing of Rantisi, thousands of Palestinian people took to the streets, vowing revenge.

However, the Israeli government announced that it would continue its policy of targeted killings, saying, “Rantisi is directly responsible for numerous terrorist attacks against Israelis.”

Rantisi, a Hamas activist, was appointed to head Hamas after Yassin was killed last month, and has been the target of the Israeli military since then.

Hamas immediately elected a new leader to replace Rantisi, but refused to make his identity public in fear of another Israeli attack.

Sung-Won Joo swon@donga.com