Salah Shahade
Encyclopedia
Salah Mustafa Muhammad Shehade (or Shehadeh) , (born in Gaza
on 24 February , 1953 – d. 22 July, 2002) was a member of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas
. He led the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades
military wing of Hamas, until his targeted killing
by Israel
.
A member of Hamas since the formation of the group in 1987, he quickly became one of its influent leaders and was arrested a few times by Israel or the Palestinian Authority. After Yahya Ayash's death, in 1996, Shahade became a top leader in the group, along with Mohammed Deif
and Adnan al-Ghoul
.
During the Al-Aqsa Intifada
, Israel accused him of masterminding several attacks against both Israeli soldiers and civilians in the Gaza strip
and in Israel proper. He was given a twelve year prison sentence but released 14 May 2000. It was also reported that Shahade was involved in the production of Qassam rockets, fired against Israeli civilian targets, and other homemade weapons, as well as in the smuggling of military equipment in the Gaza strip.
He led the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades
military wing of Hamas during a period which saw a campaign of suicide attacks against Israeli civilian targets which caused the deaths of hundreds of Israeli civilians. As a leader of the Hamas military wing he oversaw Hamas field commanders in Gaza and the West Bank and defined the policy of terror attacks by Hamas.
On July 22, 2002, the Israeli Defense Forces targeted the building in which Shahade was hiding using a one ton bomb dropped by a F-16 plane in a densely populated neighborhood of Gaza City. Fifteen people were killed, including Shahade, his wife and 9 children. Fifty others required medical attention as a result of the attack.
The attack received widespread condemnation from other Middle Eastern nations, Western Europe, and the United States. Ariel Sharon
initially praised it as "one of our greatest successes," but later told Yediot Ahronot, "had I known the outcome, I would have postponed the assassination."
. The Gush Shalom
movement also threatened to turn the pilot over to the International Court of Justice
in The Hague
. Israeli Air Force
Chief Dan Halutz
, who was abroad during the bombing itself but was still accountable as IAF commander, gave an interview to Haaretz
, published on August 21, 2002. To his pilots he said:
When asked whether the operation is morally wrong because of the toll on some civilians, Halutz answered that the planning included moral consideration and that a mistake or an accident does not make it such.
When the reporter asked him about the feelings of a pilot and what he feels when he drops a bomb, Halutz answered:
In the same interview Halutz denounced the left-wing groups who attacked the pilots and called to have them tried for "treason
":
In December 2005, a class-action lawsuit was filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights
, naming former Shin Bet director Avraham Dichter, the military chief in charge of the operation, as the sole defendant. Referring in particular to the Shehada killing, the lawsuit alleges that Dichter "developed, implemented and escalated the practice of targeted killings." Citing the killing of more than 300 Palestinian leaders and the deaths and wounding of hundreds of innocent bystanders, the suit claims that assassination is illegal under international law. In 2007, the Israeli State Prosecutor's Office announced that an independent commission of inquiry into the death of the 14 innocent Palestinian civilians would be held following a petition by Yesh Gvul
. Headed by Zvi Inbar, this commission began in February 2008 and never officially released its findings, but news reports have said it found "no premeditated intention to kill civilians," and reported that commanders did not know there were innocent people in the building at the time and would have called it off had they known.
In January 2009, a Spanish court began a war crimes probe into the attack that killed Shehade, with persons investigated including Mofaz, Dichter, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer
(Defense Minister at the time), Moshe Yaalon, Doron Almog
, Giora Eiland
and Mike Herzog. A lower court decision ordered an inquiry into the Shehadeh killing. The Spanish Court of Appeals rejected the lower court's decision, and on appeal in April 2010 the Supreme Court of Spain upheld the Court of Appeals decision against conducting an official inquiry into the IDF’s targeted killing of Shehadeh in 2002.
Israeli MK Moshe Ya'alon
(Chief of Staff at the time of the bombing) cancelled a trip to the United Kingdom
on October 5, 2009, because he feared an arrest on war crimes charges relating to the 2002 killing.
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
on 24 February , 1953 – d. 22 July, 2002) was a member of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
. He led the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades is the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist fundamentalist socio-political organisation Hamas. Created in 1992, under the direction of Yahya Ayyash, the primary objective of the group was to build a coherent military organisation to support the goals of...
military wing of Hamas, until his targeted killing
Israeli targeted killings
In the course of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Israel Defense Forces use the term "focused foiling" against those it considers proven to have intentions of performing a specific act of violence in the very near future or to be linked indirectly with several acts of violence , thus raising...
by Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
A member of Hamas since the formation of the group in 1987, he quickly became one of its influent leaders and was arrested a few times by Israel or the Palestinian Authority. After Yahya Ayash's death, in 1996, Shahade became a top leader in the group, along with Mohammed Deif
Mohammed Deif
Mohammed Deif Born in 1960, is a commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. He gained that position after Israel killed Salah Shehade in July, 2002. Israel suspects him of being a bombmaker and holds him personally responsible for the deaths of dozens of civilians...
and Adnan al-Ghoul
Adnan al-Ghoul
Adnan Al-Ghoul was the assistant of Mohammed Deif, the leader of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. He was eliminated in a targeted killing along with Imad Abbas when an Israeli Air Force Apache helicopter fired missiles at their car in Gaza on October 21, 2004...
.
During the Al-Aqsa Intifada
Al-Aqsa Intifada
The Second Intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada and the Oslo War, was the second Palestinian uprising, a period of intensified Palestinian-Israeli violence, which began in late September 2000...
, Israel accused him of masterminding several attacks against both Israeli soldiers and civilians in the Gaza strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
and in Israel proper. He was given a twelve year prison sentence but released 14 May 2000. It was also reported that Shahade was involved in the production of Qassam rockets, fired against Israeli civilian targets, and other homemade weapons, as well as in the smuggling of military equipment in the Gaza strip.
He led the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades is the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist fundamentalist socio-political organisation Hamas. Created in 1992, under the direction of Yahya Ayyash, the primary objective of the group was to build a coherent military organisation to support the goals of...
military wing of Hamas during a period which saw a campaign of suicide attacks against Israeli civilian targets which caused the deaths of hundreds of Israeli civilians. As a leader of the Hamas military wing he oversaw Hamas field commanders in Gaza and the West Bank and defined the policy of terror attacks by Hamas.
Killing
The attack received widespread condemnation from other Middle Eastern nations, Western Europe, and the United States. Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
initially praised it as "one of our greatest successes," but later told Yediot Ahronot, "had I known the outcome, I would have postponed the assassination."
Fatalities
- Salah Mustafa Shahadeh, 40 year-old man (object of the targeted killing)
- Laila Khamis Shahadeh, 41 year-old woman
- Iman Salah Shahadeh, 14 year-old girl
- Iman Hassan Matar, 27 year-old woman
- Alaa Muhammad Matar, 11 year-old girl
- Dunia Rami Matar, 5 year-old girl
- Muhammad Raed Matar, 4 year-old boy
- Aiman Raed Matar, 2 year-old boy
- Dina Raed Matar, Under 1 year-old girl
- Muna Fahmi al-Huti, 22 year-old woman
- Subhi Mahmoud al-Huti, 5 year-old boy
- Muhammad Mahmoud al-Huti, 3 year-old boy
- Zaher Saleh Nassar, 37 year-old man
- Yusef Subhi 'Ali a-Shawa, 42 year-old man
- Khader Muhammad a-Sa'idi, 67 year-old man
Legal responses
Human rights organizations around the world, including in Israel, severely criticized the attack, proclaiming that the intentional dropping of a one-ton bomb in the middle of the night on a dense civilian neighborhood is tantamount to a war crimeWar crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
. The Gush Shalom
Gush Shalom
Gush Shalom is an Israeli peace activism group founded and led by former Irgun and Knesset Member and journalist, Uri Avnery, in 1993...
movement also threatened to turn the pilot over to the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. Israeli Air Force
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
Chief Dan Halutz
Dan Halutz
' is an Israeli Air Force Lt. General and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and commander of the Israeli Air Force. Halutz was appointed as Chief of Staff on June 1, 2005. On January 17, 2007 he announced his resignation. He has a degree in economics. He was born to a Mizrahi...
, who was abroad during the bombing itself but was still accountable as IAF commander, gave an interview to Haaretz
Haaretz
Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
, published on August 21, 2002. To his pilots he said:
- [To pilots] Guys, ... you can sleep well at night. I also sleep well, by the way. You aren't the ones who choose the targets, and you were not the ones who chose the target in this particular case. You are not responsible for the contents of the target. Your execution was perfect. Superb. And I repeat again: There is no problem here that concerns you. You did exactly what you were instructed to do. You did not deviate from that by so much as a millimeter to the right or to the left. And anyone who has a problem with that is invited to see me.
When asked whether the operation is morally wrong because of the toll on some civilians, Halutz answered that the planning included moral consideration and that a mistake or an accident does not make it such.
When the reporter asked him about the feelings of a pilot and what he feels when he drops a bomb, Halutz answered:
- No. That is not a legitimate question and it is not asked. But if you nevertheless want to know what I feel when I release a bomb, I will tell you: I feel a light bump to the plane as a result of the bomb's release. A second later it's gone, and that's all. That is what I feel.
In the same interview Halutz denounced the left-wing groups who attacked the pilots and called to have them tried for "treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
":
- Is this the public for which the Israel Defense Forces is fighting day in and day out? All those bleeding hearts who have the gall to use Mafioso methods of blackmail against fighters – I don't recall that they ever threatened to turn over one of the arch-terrorists, the terrorists who have killed many Israeli civilians, to The HagueThe HagueThe Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. What I have to say about those people is that this is a democracy, where everyone can always express his opinion. But not to be a traitor.
- [Interviewer asking] Are you suggesting that members of the Gush Shalom ("Peace Bloc") group who made those comments should be placed on trial for treason?
- [Halutz answers] We have to find the right clause in the law and place them on trial in Israel. Yes. You wanted to talk to me about morality, and I say that a state that does not protect itself is acting immorally. A state that does not back up its fighters will not survive. Happily, the State of Israel does back up its fighters. This vocal but negligible minority brings to mind dark times in the history of the Jewish people, when a minority among us went and informed on another part of the nation. That must not happen again. Who would have believed that pilots of the air force would find their cars spray-painted with savage graffiti because of a mission they carried out?
In December 2005, a class-action lawsuit was filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for Constitutional Rights
Al Odah v. United States:Al Odah is the latest in a series of habeas corpus petitions on behalf of people imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. The case challenges the Military Commissions system’s suitability as a habeas corpus substitute and the legality, in general, of detention at...
, naming former Shin Bet director Avraham Dichter, the military chief in charge of the operation, as the sole defendant. Referring in particular to the Shehada killing, the lawsuit alleges that Dichter "developed, implemented and escalated the practice of targeted killings." Citing the killing of more than 300 Palestinian leaders and the deaths and wounding of hundreds of innocent bystanders, the suit claims that assassination is illegal under international law. In 2007, the Israeli State Prosecutor's Office announced that an independent commission of inquiry into the death of the 14 innocent Palestinian civilians would be held following a petition by Yesh Gvul
Yesh Gvul
Yesh Gvul is a movement founded in 1982, by combat veterans, at the outbreak of the Lebanon War, who refused to serve in Lebanon and has expanded its opposition to the war in Lebanon to the negation of service in the occupied territories, reflected in the current Yesh Gvul...
. Headed by Zvi Inbar, this commission began in February 2008 and never officially released its findings, but news reports have said it found "no premeditated intention to kill civilians," and reported that commanders did not know there were innocent people in the building at the time and would have called it off had they known.
In January 2009, a Spanish court began a war crimes probe into the attack that killed Shehade, with persons investigated including Mofaz, Dichter, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer
Binyamin Ben-Eliezer
Binyamin Fuad Ben-Eliezer , , born 12 February 1936) is an Israeli politician and former military officer of Iraqi origin. He currently serves as a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party, and has held several ministerial posts, including Minister of Industry, Trade and Labour, Minister of...
(Defense Minister at the time), Moshe Yaalon, Doron Almog
Doron Almog
Doron Almog is a Major General in the Israel Defense Forces reserves.-Background:Almog is also the father of a son with severe autism and mental retardation. His autistic son Eran died at age 23 in 2007...
, Giora Eiland
Giora Eiland
Giora Eiland is Major General Israel Defense Forces. Eiland is former Israel's National Security Advisor. He is a senior research associate at the Institute for National Security Studies and holds an M.B.A. and B.A...
and Mike Herzog. A lower court decision ordered an inquiry into the Shehadeh killing. The Spanish Court of Appeals rejected the lower court's decision, and on appeal in April 2010 the Supreme Court of Spain upheld the Court of Appeals decision against conducting an official inquiry into the IDF’s targeted killing of Shehadeh in 2002.
Israeli MK Moshe Ya'alon
Moshe Ya'alon
Moshe "Bogie" Ya'alon is an Israeli politician and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces. He currently serves as a member of the Knesset for Likud, as well as the country's Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Strategic Affairs.-Early life:...
(Chief of Staff at the time of the bombing) cancelled a trip to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on October 5, 2009, because he feared an arrest on war crimes charges relating to the 2002 killing.
See also
- Partial List of Palestinian civilian casualties in the Second Intifada
- Partial List of Israeli civilian casualties in the Second Intifada