Am I the only person who thinks Prime Minister Sharon was very happy to have the Israel Defense Forces attempt to take out a senior Palestinian militant/terrorist on the same day his own Likud party was voting whether to allow him to open negotiations for a unity government that would include Labor?
The fact that the missile fired at the car carrying Jamal Abu Samhadana only wounded him and three others is irrelevant. The air strike may have helped show Likud voters that their Sharon hasn't gone soft - even if he does intend to give up the Gaza Strip.
The timing of the air strike, however, is questionable. There has been plenty of positive movement since Yasser Arafat's death, but such assassination attempts undermine the new Palestinian leadership.
Also, Abu Samhadana was not a "ticking bomb" on his way to carry out a terror attack, but rather leader of the Popular Resistance Committees. I'm not saying the guy isn't bad, but how does Israel benefit by killng him now?
