OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, 15 August 2003 — Israel yesterday assassinated an Islamic Jihad leader, triggering fears of a fresh cycle of violence. Palestinian teenage bombers killed two Israelis and wounded scores on Tuesday in response to Israelis killing four Palestinians in a raid on a refugee camp in Nablus on Friday
Witnesses in Hebron said Israeli troops surrounded a house in search of Mohammad Seder, local head of Islamic Jihad’s armed wing. A gunbattle broke out, followed by explosions in the building.
A senior Islamic Jihad official said Seder’s body was found in the demolished house.
An Israeli Army statement said Seder was wanted on suspicion of organizing attacks that killed 19 Israelis and two foreign monitors. It described him as a “ticking bomb” who was planning a car bombing in the near future in defiance of the cease-fire.
Palestinians swore revenge. “The response to this assassination will be quick like an earthquake and in the depth of the Zionist entity (Israel),” said the Web site of Neda Al-Quds, which is affiliated with the group.
“We assure our people that resistance has a long arm and these crimes will not pass without punishment,” Bassam Assadi, a senior West Bank Islamic Jihad official, said on Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite television.
Palestinian Security Minister Mohammed Dahlan, citing Israel’s continued raids despite the truce, accused it of trying to provoke bloody retaliation so it could justify its reluctance to grant Palestinians a state as mandated by the peace plan.
“It is important for militants to remain strongly committed to the cease-fire,” he told Reuters. “They should not give Israel the chance to exploit an attack here and an attack there to justify its departure from... political commitments.”
