Word: wazir
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...operation came off precisely as planned. At 1:15 a.m., while a dozen commandos stood watch outside, eight others stormed the house through the front door and raced to the second landing. Al-Wazir, hearing the commotion from his study, grabbed a pistol and headed for the top of the stairs. More than 60 bullets tore into him. Along the way, the gunmen killed the gardener and two guards but, as instructed, did not harm al-Wazir's family. By 4 a.m. they had returned to their ship. A few days later, they landed safely in Haifa harbor. An ironic...
...just hours before it was carried out. The Cabinet had approved preparations for the mission shortly after the Prime Ministers' Club had decided on the plan. At the time, the only reservations were sounded by Peres and Minister Without Portfolio Ezer Weizmann, who voiced strong objections. Now, with al-Wazir's assassination only hours away, eight Cabinet members again endorsed the plan and the same two holdouts renewed their objections. Last week, as doubts continued about the wisdom of the operation, Peres maintained a discreet silence, but Weizmann spoke out against the attack. "It doesn't contribute to the fight...
...have nothing for the Israelis except stones and Molotov cocktails and feeding our babies with the milk of hatred for them," said Fatima, 60, mother of one of the Palestinians deported last week. Several Palestinians offered predictions confirming Israel's worst fears. "Al-Wazir's killing will no doubt weaken the moderate voices and take Arafat to extremist positions," warned a doctor in Gaza. A Palestinian lawyer offered a prognosis that the Israelis may find even more distressing. "The killing of Abu Jihad," he said, "may achieve Palestinian unity...
While that seems a distant prospect, al-Wazir's funeral did have the momentary effect of unifying the fractured Palestinian community in mourning. Almost every faction was represented at the burial, and the graveside frenzy was dignified by the presence of such Palestinian leaders as Farouk Kadoumi, Nayef Hawatmey and George Habash. But the turnout could not mask the absence of one man: Arafat. As his closest friend was being lowered into the ground, Arafat was in Libya talking to Muammar Gaddafi...
Initially, the P.L.O. had requested that al-Wazir be buried in Jordan at a site within view of the West Bank. King Hussein had consented, although Jordanian officials were concerned that the burial might spark demonstrations of support for the uprising from the two-thirds of the Jordanian population that is Palestinian. Then word came that al-Wazir would be interred in Syria, and Damascus invited all P.L.O. leaders to attend the funeral...