Note: forwarded message attached.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Check out Yahoo! Shopping and Yahoo! Auctions for all of
your unique holiday gifts! Buy at http://shopping.yahoo.com
or bid at http://auctions.yahoo.com
--- Begin Message ---
----------
Hamas to halt anti-Israeli suicide bombings
Thursday, December 20, 2001 . Posted: 07:07:24 (AEDT)
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s444599.htm
A senior Hamas official has said the radical Palestinian movement
has decided to stop suicide bombings against Israel.
He told the Agence France Presse news agency that Hamas had taken
an internal decision to end what it calls "martyrdom operations",
but it was not going to make an official declaration.
The official refused to say what tactics the radical group would
use in its avowed struggle to end the Israeli occupation of
Palestinian land, or if it would revert to grisly attacks if
Israel carries out more "targeted" killings, which have taken a
heavy toll on Hamas operatives.
"We can't predict anything," the official said.
An official from Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah
movement also said there had been a meeting of various
Palestinian factions in the West Bank on Wednesday and that Hamas
had informed them they were halting their operations.
The suicide attacks triggered a massive Israeli armed response
and sweeping international condemnation.
The Fatah official, who likewise asked to remain anonymous, said
Hamas had said it did not want to damage Palestinian national
unity by carrying on with such operations.
Hamas suicide bombers blew themselves up in Jerusalem and Haifa,
in northern Israel, at the beginning of this month, killing 26
people and provoking the heaviest Israeli air raids against Mr
Arafat's administration to date.
Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon severed all ties with Mr
Arafat last week after another Hamas attack, which used gunmen
and roadside explosives rather than suicide bombings.
Mr Arafat in turn ordered the closure of dozens of Hamas offices
and has started arresting its militants.
A senior Israeli Defence official was quoted by army radio on
Tuesday as saying Hamas had shifted the focus in its guerrilla
war against Israel, and now planned to attack strategic targets
rather than "soft" ones, such as public buses or crowded shopping
areas.
The defence source said the focus will be on attacking strategic
buildings and senior Israeli officials.
© ABC 2001
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
--- End Message ---
