After killing, Hamas cries war, revenge8230;

8216;8216;Israel hit the first and foremost leader of the Palestinian terrorist murderers,8217;8217; Sharon said. But some Israelis, including a member of Sharon8217;s cabinet, Arab leaders and many West Asian political analysts, said Yassin8217;s death would only encourage militants to step up their attacks on the Jewish state.

Sharon has ruled out peace talks with the Palestinians until attacks on Israelis stop. He has threatened to draw a West Bank 8216;8216;security line8217;8217; that would leave them with less land than they seek for a state should the road map collapse.

8216;8216;It is a clear message to the world that the Israelis are not ready to sit with the Palestinians for peace,8217;8217; Palestinian PM Ahmed Qurie said after the killing, which he said 8216;8216;opened the door to chaos8217;8217;. Thousands of mourners poured out their grief in a funeral procession for Yassin. 8216;8216;Sharon, start preparing your body bags because Hamas8217;s Qassam Brigades will put Israeli houses in mourning and make a funeral in every Israeli street,8217;8217; the crowd chanted.

8216;8216;The battle is open and war between us and them is open. They are the killers of prophets and today they killed an Islamic symbol,8217;8217; said senior Hamas political leader Abdel-Aziz Al Rantissi. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, part of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat8217;s Fatah faction and like Hamas responsible for past suicide bombings, called for 8216;8216;war, war, war on the sons of Zion. An eye for an eye. There will be a response within hours, God willing8217;8217;. Mohamed Mahdi Akef, leader of Egypt8217;s Muslim Brotherhood, called it 8216;8216;an unforgivable crime8217;8217; and said violence was the only language that Israel understood. 8216;8216;We will not rest, we will not sleep until the last Zionist leaves our territory,8217;8217; Akef said. Lebanon8217;s Hizbollah said Israelis would 8216;8216;pay a heavy price for their ugly crime8217;8217;.

Meanwhile, Washington denied Hamas allegations that it had given Israel the green light to kill Yassin and appealed for regional calm. Pressed in a TV interview on whether Sharon had called US President George W. Bush directly to tell him that Israeli forces planned the assassination, White House National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice replied: 8216;8216;He did not.8217;8217;

She did not condemn the attack. 8216;8216;Let8217;s remember that Hamas is a terrorist organisation and that Sheikh Yassin himself has been heavily involved in terrorism,8217;8217; she said. The EU criticised the 8216;8216;extra-judicial killing8217;8217;.

In the first sign of revenge within Israel, a Palestinian with an axe hurt three people outside an Army base near Tel Aviv, Israeli police said. He was arrested.

Describing the assassination, a witness said the first missile destroyed Yassin8217;s wheelchair and the Hamas leader lay on the ground. 8216;8216;People there darted left and right. Then another two missiles landed,8217;8217; the witness added.

Yassin8217;s son Mohammed, who was unhurt, said he had remarked to his father about three hours before the attack about an Israeli reconnaissance plane spotted in the sky. 8216;8216;He said, 8216;We seek martyrdom8230;.to Him God we belong and to Him we return8217;.8217;8217; 8212; Reuters