Nazir Majally, Asharq Al-Awsat

GAZA CITY, 11 September 2003 — Israeli warplanes flattened the home of senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar with a half-ton bomb yesterday, wounding him and killing his eldest son and a bodyguard, in retaliation for two Hamas bombings that killed 15 Israelis a day earlier.

The strike marked the first time a Hamas leader was attacked in his home, an escalation of Israel’s campaign against the militant group. Several Hamas leaders went underground, and Hamas threatened to widen its bombing spree by bringing down Israeli high-rises and homes.

In the West Bank, Palestinian Parliament speaker Ahmed Qorei accepted the job of prime minister after several days of wavering, his decision apparently rushed by fears that a continued power vacuum will tempt Israel to intensify military strikes. Qorei said he would form a crisis Cabinet of no more than eight ministers and seek Parliament’s approval today.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon cut short a visit to India, and was to hold security consultations immediately upon landing early today. Two strategic decisions — whether to expel Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat or order a large-scale invasion of the Gaza Strip — are on the agenda, said a security official.

The Hamas military wing issued a statement yesterday claiming responsibility for the two suicide bombings on Tuesday, saying they “came as the beginning of our retaliation for the enemy’s crimes against our people.”

The first explosion killed eight soldiers at a crowded bus stop near Tel Aviv, and the second blast — five hours later — killed seven people at a popular Jerusalem coffee house. Dozens of bystanders were maimed and wounded.

The Israeli military said after the bombings that it will press ahead with its “all-out war” on Hamas. In the three weeks leading up to yesterday’s strike, Israel had killed 12 Hamas members and five bystanders in targeted attacks, and Hamas said the bombings came in retaliation for strikes against its leaders.

In the West Bank village of Rantisi, 20 relatives of the two Hamas members identified as the bombers were arrested by Israeli troops.

Villagers said the two, Ramez Abu Isleem, 24, and Ihab Abdel Kader Abu Isleem, 20, disappeared last week. Despite having the same family name, the two weren’t believed to be close relatives.

Hamas threatened revenge. In another statement, its military wing said there would be more bombings in retaliation for the attack on Zahar. “Targeting homes is violating all red lines,” it said. “From today on, the Zionist enemy shoulders the responsibility for the targeting of houses and Zionist towers everywhere in occupied Palestine (by us).”

Some 12 hours after the attack on the Jerusalem coffee house, Israeli warplanes bombed the home of Zahar, a senior official in Hamas, flattening the two-story structure with what Israeli security officials said was a half-ton (1,100 pound) bomb. Zahar, 58, said he was sitting in a chair inside his house at the time.

Also, two Palestinians were killed and a third seriously wounded by Israeli Army gunfire in Balata refugee camp outside Nablus in the West Bank, hospital sources said. The two men killed were identified as members of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a radical group.