AMMAN, 25 March 2004 — Jordanian Prime Minister Faisal Fayez warned yesterday that the killing of Hamas’ leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was tantamount to “a demolition” of the peace process, and said the solution for the region’s problems lay in “Israel’s evacuation” of Palestinian and other Arab territories. “Yassin’s assassination represents a demolition of the process whereby peoples of the region yearn to achieve just and durable peace,” Fayez told the lower house of Parliament.
“Israel’s continuation of the policy of assassinations, repressions and destruction of Palestinians’ homes will only fuel the cycle of violence and bloodshed,” he said. “We believe the solution for the crises Israel is creating lies in the evacuation of all Palestinian and Arab land and recognition of the Palestinian people’s right to an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital,” he added.
Yassin, the founding father of the Palestinian group Hamas, was killed, along with nine of his followers, when an Israeli helicopter gunship fired on them as they left a Gaza mosque at dawn on Monday.
The incident, which drew sharp official and popular condemnation across the Arab and Islamic world, came three days after Jordan’s King Abdallah had paid a secret visit to Israel for talks with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Fayez pointed out that the Jordanian government was “establishing contacts with Arab and friendly countries to evaluate the implications of this ugly crime and other Israeli crimes. We intend to continue our moves at various international forums with a view to ensuring an end to the Israeli violations and occupation of Palestinian lands and securing international protection for the Palestinian people,” he said.
Fayez’s remarks coincided with a UN Security Council session called by Arab countries in order to seek international condemnation of the Israeli action and press for a UN peacekeeping force to be sent to the Palestinian territories. Amman-based Arab diplomats believed the move would be unproductive in the light of reported US insistence to veto any draft resolution blaming the Jewish state.
