Bin Laden killing prompts Arab anger, relief

"We condemn the assassination and the killing of an Arab holy warrior," said Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas administration in Gaza, which faces a challenge from al Qaeda-inspired groups that consider it too moderate. "We regard this as a continuation of the American policy based on oppression and the shedding of Muslim and Arab blood." Those who revered bin Laden were still in denial about his death but many in the Arab world felt it was long overdue. Some said the killing of bin Laden in a raid by U.S. forces in Pakistan was scarcely relevant in an Arab world fired by popular revolt against oppressive leaders who had resisted violent Islamist efforts to weaken their grip on power. "Bin Laden is just a bad memory," said Nadim Houry of Human Rights Watch in Beirut. "The region has moved way beyond that, with massive broad-based upheavals that are game-changers."