Kadima, the Party of Israel's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Kicks Off Election Campaign with Threat to Assassinate Hamas Leaders

Haaretz, January 29, 2009 - Israeli Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz threatened to assassinate Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders, as Kadima kicked off its election campaign in Sderot Monday.

Speaking about kidnapped [Israeli] soldier Gilad Shalit, Mofaz addressed Haniyeh. "As long as Gilad Shalit doesn't see the light of day, you won't see the light of day. As long as Shalit doesn't go free, you and your friends will not be free. We won't hesitate to send you on the the way we sent [Ahmed] Yassin and [Abdel Aziz ] Rantissi," he said, referring to previous Hamas leaders [who were both assassinated by Israel in 2004 - the former by missiles fired from Israeli helicopters as he left a mosque in Gaza City, and the latter by a missile strike on his car, which also killed two other bystanders - Ed.].

Mofaz's hard-line stance is part of Kadima's efforts to improve its image in the campaign, following Kadima leader and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's decline in the polls after the war in Gaza....