"By Assassinating Dr. Al-Rantissi, Israel Continues its Killing and Terror Policy and Continues to Maintain the Region in the Cycle of Violence and Bloodshed"

At about 8:30 PM of Saturday 17/04/2004, the prominent Hamas Leader Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rantissi was assassinated by two missiles fired by an Israeli Apache Helicopter in Gaza city. He was killed with two of his fellows while driving his vehicle in a densely populated neighborhood in Gaza city. In the same incident, ten bystanders were injured.

In the past, Dr. Rantissi was exposed to many assassination attempts; the last incident was on June 2003, where he was moderately injured.

This assassination is a blatant violation of the 4th Geneva Convention. It is an incident of extra-judicial acts and an inhumane war crime, where the perpetrators should be sentenced as war criminals before the International courts. This crime proves again that Israel is a rogue state, behaving outside the normal boundaries of international law based on destruction, expansion and violence, controlled by extremists who are motivated by racist ideology.

In this regard, Dr. Eyad El-Sarraj, the Chairman of the Board and Gaza Community Mental Health Programme Staff strongly condemn the assassination crime of Dr. Rantissi and his two associates, and all other crimes of the Israeli government perpetrated against Palestinian people.

GCMHP appeals to all human rights and international organizations, UN agencies, and the world to condemn this brutal crime. We appeal to all organizations to work urgently and seriously to pressure Israel to halt its policy of assassination and killing civilians and to stop the daily violations and practices against the Palestinian people.

Israel should be declared as a rogue state, and should be boycotted diplomatically, economically, culturally, and particularly in the military area. The US administration should be declared as an accomplice to murder.
We strongly affirm that the road to peace and security for all will not be achieved except by commitment to the international law and human rights.

Finally, we must all unite against evil…we must not allow terror to win…terror will not win.

Dr. Eyad El-Sarraj, Chairman of the Board (Gaza Community Mental Health Programme)