RAMALLAH/GAZA: The killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. forces was welcomed on Monday by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority while its prospective power-sharing partner, Islamist Hamas, deplored his death.
"Getting rid of bin Laden is good for the cause of peace worldwide but what counts is to overcome the discourse and the methods -- the violent methods -- that were created and encouraged by bin Laden and others in the world," Palestinian Authority (PA) spokesman Ghassan Khatib said.
Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip, called bin Laden a martyr.
"We condemn the assassination and the killing of an Arab holy warrior," Haniyeh told reporters. "We regard this as a continuation of the American policy based on oppression and the shedding of Muslim and Arab blood."
