By Ryan Jones
Apr 20, 2006
In lieu of a substantial military response to Monday's Tel Aviv "suicide" bombing and the Palestinian Authority's endorsement of it, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert decided to revoke the Israeli residency status held by four top Hamas officials.
Said Olmert in remarks carried by The Jerusalem Post:
"Any member of a government involved in terrorism should not be granted any immunity in the form of his Israeli residency identification."
Olmert and Israel hold the PA directly responsible for the massacre in Tel Aviv, especially after Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh endorsed it as a legitimate act of "self defense."
"The Palestinian government is responsible for this act of terror. Its members will not be given freedom of movement and shall be regarded as operatives of a terrorist organization."
Oddly enough, Hamas is crying foul over the move, despite the fact it does not recognize the legitimacy or sovereignty of the Jewish state.
Hamas has threatened to take its grievance to Israel's High Court, and if that fails to produce the desired outcome, the International Court of Justice in The Hague will be petitioned.
Hamas has found an ally in Israeli-Arab Knesset Member Ahmed Tibi, who decried Olmert's decision:
"Residency or citizenship can't be revoked on the basis of belief or political affiliation."