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Israel accused of booby-trap killing in phone box

By Inigo Gilmore in Jerusalem

ISRAEL was accused yesterday of assassinating a senior Islamic Jihad militant who died when he used a booby-trapped public phone box.

Iyad al-Hardan, 30, was killed by an explosion as he inserted his phone card into the pay phone he frequently used outside the Palestinian prison where he was being held in the West Bank town of Jenin, a senior Palestinian security official said.

Palestinians immediately blamed Israel. "We will retaliate for the killing of our leaders and we will teach the enemy a lesson they will not forget," an Islamic Jihad statement said last night.

Danny Yatom, the former head of Mossad, the intelligence agency, indicated that Israel was behind the killing. He told Israeli radio that when "one person is taken out" the possibility of "escalation" is taken into account.

Ephraim Sneh, the Israeli transport minister, said: "I think it will set [Islamic Jihad] back in a meaningful way." He would not confirm that Israel carried out the killing, but added: "His hands were covered with blood and his head filled with plans for further bloodshed."

Israel has accused Hardan of masterminding several bombings, including a December attack in northern Israel that killed two Israelis and injured 60. Hardan has also been linked to a 1998 car bombing in a Jerusalem market that killed the two Palestinian bombers and injured 21 Israelis.

Palestinians say Israel has assassinated at least 20 activists during the past six months. Israel says it targets only those militants behind attacks on Israelis. Hardan was released from a Palestinian jail in November after the latest uprising began but was re-arrested six weeks ago. He had since been allowed to come and go from the prison and was permitted to use the telephone on the street outside, which he was known to do frequently.

As news of yesterday's incident broke, hundreds of Palestinians converged on the Jenin hospital where Hardan's body was taken, for a spontaneous demonstration. Tension grew when a 15-year-old Palestinian was shot dead in a stone-throwing clash with Israeli troops in the central Gaza Strip. Nine other Palestinians were injured.

The Israelis and Palestinians were already at loggerheads after a convoy of Palestinian security officials was fired on as it returned to Gaza from the talks in Tel Aviv, the first for two months. Israel said its soldiers came under fire first, but the Palestinians called it an assassination attempt.

America condemned the shooting, with Richard Boucher, the State Department spokesman, calling it "a very serious incident". He said: "Israel does have a responsibility to provide the safety and security of Palestinian officials travelling to and from security meetings. We hope there will be a thorough investigation."

It emerged yesterday that Ariel Sharon, who has often called Yasser Arafat a terrorist, sent his son, Omri, to meet the Palestinian leader this week; but Israel's attorney-general, Elyakim Rubinstein, recommended that the move should not be repeated. Israeli law prohibits immediate family members of the prime minister from serving in an official capacity.

America called Israel's latest preparations to expand West Bank settlements provocative and inflammatory yesterday. Israel should stop such settlement activity, Mr Boucher said. "This is provocative and we have consistently encouraged both sides to refrain from provocative acts."

-- Anonymous, April 05, 2001