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(Paraphrased from The Daily Star)
On Saturday, 17 April 2004, at 8:30 PM Israeli helicopters fired a missile at
Hamas chief Abdel Aziz Rantisi, killing him and his two
bodyguards just outside his home
in Gaza city. The attack on the Hamas chief will come across in
the Middle East as though it was carried out with prior U.S. knowledge
and approval because it follows Bush's approval of Sharon's plans for
Gaza and the West Bank, and will contribute towards accusations of America's
pro-Israeli bias.
My own reaction was that this event, building on the previous
assassinations of officials on both sides, was symbolic of the slide
toward chaos and violence that has substituted for diplomacy. This is
primitive behavior driven by the deepest and oldest impulses and it is a
terrible sign of our fragilility as humans growing toward a human
future.
The formal event was set for four hours, beginning half an hour before
the attack. Chisquare is 14376.9 on 14400 df, and p = 0.553.
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