Hamas: Arab state may have helped Israel with assassination

DAMASCUS - Hamas said on Monday an Arab country might have helped Israel assassinate one of its leaders in Damascus, an act it called "treason."

Senior Hamas official Iz a Din al-Sheikh Khalil was killed by a car bomb in the Syrian capital on Sunday.

"We were not convinced initially, this would be treason for an Arab security apparatus to be involved in this," Hamas Lebanon head Osama Hamdan said of a report in the Al-Hayat daily.

The Arabic daily said an Arab country had given the Israeli spy agency Mossad information about the movements and habits of Hamas leaders abroad.

"Now, because of what happened yesterday or through other information, there are indications that this may be case," he said.

A spokesman in Gaza for Hamas said Sunday the killing was "a cowardly crime by the Zionist Mossad."

The United States, whose policy is to oppose what it calls "targeted killings," said it did not know who was responsible for the attack but blamed Syria for any cycle of violence because of its support for Hamas.

"Terrorists and their supporters beget a cycle of violence that is best addressed through the end of support of terror," State Department spokesman Adam Ereli told reporters.

"There are terrorist organizations and terrorist individuals operating out of Syria with the support and connivance of the government of Syria. ... We urge Syria to take steps to halt the activities of individuals and organizations that facilitate and direct violence and terror and that operate from Syrian territory,? Ereli said.

Boim: Syria directing terror, is not immuneDeputy Defense Minister Ze'ev Boim, turning aside questions over whether Israel was behind the assassination, said the issue was not who killed al-Sheikh Khalil in Damascus, but rather Syria's deep involvement in terrorism.

"Syria is responsible for directing terrorism against us and therefore it is not immune from our operations to prevent terrorism," Boim, who often enunciates Israeli policy, told Israel Radio.

According to assessments voiced by security officials in internal discussions on Sunday, Syria will not permit Hezbollah to respond on its behalf in response to the assassination of senior Hamas activist Iz a Din al-Sheikh Khalil in Damascus.

Defense officials believe Syria will prevent the organization from launching attacks on the northern border. The officials also expressed concern that Hamas would try to avenge Khalil's death by striking at Israeli and Jewish targets abroad with Syrian and Iranian aid.

Israeli diplomatic and other missions abroad have raised their alert levels in response to the warnings.

"This is a central thing that needs to be said. The principle should be clear: anyone who strikes at Israel, any partner to terrorism that sows murder and death of Israelis here, his blood be on his own head, and it will be the same whether he is operating in Israel or abroad," Boim added.

Boim described Syria as a "central intersection" of terrorism and Assad as the "traffic officer" directing the operations and harboring the groups.

Although Boim and other officials refused to confirm Israel's involvement in Sunday's car bombing, Israeli security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have indictaed that Israel had a hand in the attack.

Hamas vowed to take revenge for the Khalil's killing, pointing a finger directly at Israel. Syria also accused Israel of involvement in the killing.

Boim said Hamas' threats should not be taken lightly. "But we have to very aware and not take our eyes off the special place Syria holds in the chain of terrorism, regionally and globally," Boim added.

Syria reacts with confusionSyria's response to the assassination was one of weakness and confusion. The government's official news agency released a short statement from an interior ministry source saying Khalil "did not carry out any activities on Syrian soil," and that various authorities were investigating the incident.

"He is one of the Palestinian citizens who was expelled by the occupation authorities to Lebanon, and he was not allowed to return to the Palestinian territories," the statement said. No details as to how the operation was carried out or who is suspected to be behind it were given.

"Our response will be civilized and sensible," said Ahmed al-Haj Ali, an aide to Syria's information minister. "It needs to be made clear that Damascus is not open to these criminals.

Ali described the incident as a "cowardly act of terror."

"There are no limits to Israeli aggression," he added.

In response to the assassination, Hamas' military wing in the territories, the Iz a Din al-Kassam, announced that it would avenge Khalil's death by carrying out attacks outside of Israel, which the organization has avoided doing since its establishment.

Yet, the organization took down the posting from its web site a few hours after originally vowing revenge. Instead, two officials from Hamas' political bureau - Osama Hamdan, an organization spokesman in Lebanon, and Mohammed Nazal, a senior official based in Beirut, declared that the group is focusing its struggle exclusively on Israel and the territories.

This is the first time that an assassination of this nature has been carried out on Syrian soil, something which certainly worries the authorities with regards to the freedom of action that intelligence agents enjoy within their territory.

"A citizen was attacked and thus Syria has the right to act on the international diplomatic plane," said Al-Fayez Az a Din, a political commentator in Syria, who characterized Israel as "hysterical" in an interview with Al Jazeera on Sunday.

"We will call on the world to bring a halt to the destruction of the entire region," he said.

After Israel's attack on a Palestinian training camp near Damascus, Syria submitted complaints against Israel in international forums.

"Irrespective of the explosion in Damascus, we need to act against terror through all channels," a senior defense official told Haaretz. "In the past we warned that we would hit terror activists anywhere. I suggest that they take our words seriously."

General Yisrael Ziv, the head of the operations branch in the General Staff, told Channel 10 that Khalil was "a central Hamas activist. "We are not distressed by his death. He was very active in the field of terror."

Ziv said that he heard about the assassination through reports from the media.

Palestinians bury Khalil, vow revengeShouts of revenge echoed in a Palestinian refugee camp Monday as thousands buried Iz a Din al-Sheikh Khalil who was killed in a car bombing blamed on Israel. Syria urged the international community to stop Israel's "terrorist crimes."

Mourners waved Palestinian and Hamas flags as they marched Monday behind a hearse carrying Khalil's coffin through the narrow streets of the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk in suburban Damascus. The coffin was draped in a green Hamas flag with white Islamic writing.

The mourners, estimated at about 3,000, shouted "Allahu Akbar!", Arabic for God is Great, and "Revenge! Revenge!" as Khalil was buried at the camp's Martyrs' Cemetery as shops and schools closed.

At the funeral was Khalil's family, including his father and brother who came from the Gaza Strip, and his wife, who wore black clothing and white head scarf. Khalil is also survived by two daughters and a son.

Khalil's son, Muhammad, 7, declared: "My father now is in paradise."

"I will follow my father's course and blow up Jews," Muhammad said, wrapping the green Hamas ribbon around his head.

The al-Wassim Mosque's Palestinian preacher, Nawaf Takrouri, shouted through a loudspeaker at the funeral: "Teach your children hatred for Jews and love for your country, holy places and martyrdom for the sake of the Almighty God."

Several Hamas officials, surrounded by bodyguards, attended the funeral.

An angry Palestinian mourner, Aysar Ahmad, said Israel "has exceeded the limits" through its assassination of Khalil in Damascus. "We want to fight them (the Israelis) outside Palestine through their embassies, airline agencies and even their places of worship," the 49-year-old woman said.

	Senior Hamas official Iz a Din al-Sheikh Khalil was killed by a car bomb in the Syrian capital on Sunday (Reuters).