PRES. KATSAV: SHEHADA EXPLOITED INNOCENT CIVILIANS, WHO, IN EFFECT, BECAME
HIS PERSONAL FLAK JACKET
(Communicated by the President's Spokeswoman)
Tuesday, July 23, 2002

President Moshe Katsav today (Tuesday), 23.July.2002, commented on the
elimination of senior Hamas militant Saleh Shehada and expressed his
regret over the deaths of innocent Palestinian civilians in the action,
which was necessary to defeat Palestinian terror.

"Israel had no choice but to attack the person who was directly
responsible for the murders of dozens of innocent Israelis.

Accumulated evidence indicated that Shehada had planned and carried out
dozens of attacks and had ordered the murders of innocent civilians.

No country, including the Arab states, would allow such an arch-murderer
to continue to perpetrate his sick desires.

Shehada maliciously chose to locate himself in a crowded residential
area. This is a tragedy and shows how criminal Palestinian terrorists,
in order to protect themselves, are using the lives of innocent women
and children, intentionally making them into helpless human hostages.

I send my condolences to the families of those who were killed, and my
wishes for a speedy recovery to those who were wounded, in an action
that was designed to foil the continued massacre of Israelis," President
Katsav said.

President Katsav called on the Palestinian Authority to halt the terror
and thus end the bloodshed in our region.