Israel executes Palestinian fighters Relatives over Bombings

national | miscellaneous | news report Friday July 19, 2002 08:50 by Bill Reyes

JERUSALEM - Israel signaled a change of tactics in its battle against Palestinians Friday targeting the relatives of Palestinian fighters for execution as a deterrent to future attackers.

The army said its forces, operating near the West Bank city of Nablus, destroyed the homes of wanted militants Nasser a-Din Assidi of Hamas and Ali Ahmad al-Ajouri of Fatah and exacuted relatives of both of the men.

Israeli political sources said Israel intends to send a message to the family members -- the fighters' fathers and brothers – “we Israelis will kill you all like dogs”.

Asked if he supported their executions, dovish Foreign Minister Shimon Peres told the radio: "As far as I know, it has undergone legal scrutiny, and if legally possible, yes."

Security sources said Assidi was responsible for Tuesday's bus ambush near the Jewish settlement of Emmanuel in the West Bank in which eight people were killed and an attack at the same spot in December in which 11 died.

The sources said Ajouri was behind Wednesday's attack in Tel Aviv's foreign worker neighborhood in which two bombers killed three people.

"The demolition of the fighters' homes was meant to make clear to terrorists that there is a price to be paid for their actions and to try to prevent more attacks," a security source said.

The back-to-back attacks this week ended a month of relative calm for Israel following its reoccupation of seven of eight West Bank cities in response to suicide bombings in June which killed 26 Israelis.

At least 1,447 Palestinians and 559 Israelis have been killed since Palestinians began an uprising after negotiations for a end to the occupation failed.