Home > THE ASSASSINATION OF SHEIKH AHMED YASSIN
Palestine is also the target
Statement from the A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition shares the sentiment of the
Palestinian people and the international community in
condemning the assassination of the prominent Palestinian
leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. This is a criminal action
against not only a political leader, but also the entirety
of the Palestinian people and their movement for
self-determination and return. The attack was not just on
one man or on one group, but was an attack against the
Palestinian people, just as Israel has terrorized and
killed thousands of Palestinians in an effort to destroy
all resistance to the occupation of Palestine.
We regard this assassination as an indication that the
Sharon government is preparing an all out assault on the
Palestinian people, much in the same context as the attack
on Lebanon in June 1982. At that time, Israel, with the
full backing of the Reagan Administration, invaded
Lebanon, occupied Beirut and heavily bombed Lebanese and
Palestinian residential areas for months. The aim was to
destroy the Palestinian national liberation movement and
turn Lebanon into a virtual colony. Israel’s occupation of
Lebanese land was ended only in 2000.
Now, the Sharon government is attempting to create
desperate conditions and issue what they hope will be a
crushing blow to the Palestinian people. Before and
following the murder of Sheikh Yassin, the Sharon
government has announced that it intends to escalate the
killing of Palestinian leaders. Given that these actions
will create a firestorm of opposition in the region and
within Palestine, it is inconceivable to consider that the
Sharon government could have undertaken this action
unilaterally and without the approval of the Bush
administration.
More than ever before, support for the Palestinian people
and their right to return and self-determination is an
imperative. It is our duty to raise our voices louder and
to organize to call into question the complicity of the
United States government in this process.
We must redouble our effort to stop all forms of
assistance to Israel, including military, economic,
political, and diplomatic support. Israel receives $15
million every day from our taxes, and uses U.S.-made
weapons in its war on the Palestinian people. In return,
Israel polices the Middle East on behalf of Corporate
America. While millions are out of work and tens of
millions have no health care, billions of dollars are sent
every year to Israel to oppress the Arab people.
As the U.S. continues its colonial occupations of
Afghanistan and Iraq, and as it robs the Haitian people of
their liberty, the State of Israel continues its attempts
to subjugate the Palestinian people by destroying their
homes, expropriating their land, assassinating their
leaders, and placing them within the confines of an
Apartheid wall and in exile.
The A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition stands in solidarity with the
Palestinian people and with all those fighting colonial
occupation.
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