Gaza City
The spiritual leader of the Palestinian group Hamas is urging Muslims to attack Americans if the U.S. makes war on Iraq. In an open letter published this week, Sheik Ahmed Yassin wrote, “Muslims should threaten Western interests and strike them everywhere.” The new order marks a break with past Hamas policy of killing only Israelis, mostly through suicide bombings. Hamas isn’t neglecting Israel, though: Israeli forces arrested a would-be suicide bomber from Hamas in a West Bank hotel this week. He had 40 pounds of explosives strapped to a belt.
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