I am writing in regards to Hani Almadhoun’s response to the assassination of Sheik Yassin. You asked the question of what harm Sheik Yassin, a man confined to a wheel chair, could do in the Middle East. I may not be from the West Bank, but I think I can answer that question for you. As you know, he was the founder of the terrorist group Hamas. Yassin taught Palestinians much about “death,” as you say, specifically, the 941 Israeli deaths since the start of the intifada in September, 2000. Yassin was not a nice old man preaching peace; he did not want peace. He used religious fundamentalism to advance his goal of inflicting terror and destruction on Israel. Fortunately the Israelis had enough foresight to eliminate this man, for who knows what his next move against Israel might have been.
I don’t think anyone is ignorant enough to believe that since Yassin is dead that peace will spring out of thin air. One thing was certain that peace would never have been achieved with him still preaching violence. I don’t know how Israel tolerated that murderous man for so long. If Hamas continues this cowardly process of suicide bombing, Palestinians leaders, like Yassir Arafat, who sit idle in the peace process will always flinch when they hear the hum of helicopters overhead because they are probably next. Just maybe if their lives are threatened they might realize that suicide bombing will not bring peace in the Middle East.
Jared Larsen
Burley, Idaho
