RAMALLAH, 28 August — Continuing its policy of assassinating Palestinian activists, Israeli military yesterday killed the head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, prompting Palestinian accusations that it had “defied all red lines”. Palestinians also said the assassination opened the door to “comprehensive, unlimited war”.
Abu Ali Mustafa, head of the PFLP, was killed when helicopter gunships fired missiles through two windows of his top-floor office in a three-story building in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The attack was so precise the arched window frames were left intact, but the heat of the missiles turned the white outer walls black and the office inside was wrecked.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia yesterday called for joint Arab and Islamic efforts to support the Palestinian people in their struggle against Israeli aggression. “The Palestinian intifada must be given continued moral and material support,” Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd told the weekly Council of Ministers.
Addressing the Cabinet meeting in Jeddah, King Fahd also emphasized the need to mobilize international support for the Palestinians and force Israel to comply with UN Security Council resolutions. The Saudi Cabinet reviewed the situation in the occupied territories in light of Israel’s military campaign of terrorizing Palestinian civilians.
The PFLP leadership in Gaza issued a statement saying that a reaction to the assassination would come “as soon as possible” and would be “the toughest ever in the history of Israel”. Witnesses said the strike seemed “very accurate” as Ali Mustafa’s room in the PFLP offices was the only spot in the four-story building to be hit. Four residents of the building were slightly injured in the attack.
One witness said Ali Mustafa’s room in the corner of the building had been totally destroyed in the strike, with blood-stains on the walls and floor. Rumors in the Palestinian street said the Israeli Army had likely been tipped off as to Ali Mustafa’s movements, as he had been alone in his office at the time of the strike. It was also his first visit to his office in two weeks.
Aides said Mustafa had just received a phone call, implying the call was made to check he was there. Mustafa died instantly shortly before noon (around 0830 GMT) when two Israeli air force helicopters fired two missiles at his office in Alirsal street near the bureau of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
The Palestinian Authority leaders denounced the attack as an escalation of the conflict and said it would have grave consequences. “By this sinful crime, the Israeli government has set the stage for a comprehensive, unlimited war,” PA said in a statement.
It announced three days of national mourning and thousands of ordinary people took to streets in Gaza City and in Jenin, Nablus, Bethlehem and Tulkarem in the West Bank calling for revenge. Palestinians in the northern West Bank town of Jenin, the area where Mustafa came from, waved fists in the air and chanted: “Abu Ali, rest in peace as we follow your path and blow up Tel Aviv!”
PA Cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said of the Israeli attack: “This is crossing all red lines. Sharon is inviting hell to break loose.” United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Israel had exacerbated the Middle East crisis and called for international action before violence spread to neighboring countries.
“The Israelis have raised tensions in the region to levels we have not seen in many years,” Annan told reporters during an official visit to Austria.
