Palestine: killing Hamas officials abroad won’t stop resistance to Israeli occupation

Analysts have ruled out any Israeli attempts to assassinate Hamas leaders based abroad, Quds Press has reported. The possibility of such “targeted killings” was reported in a British newspaper yesterday.

According to the Times, Israel has informed its allies of its intentions. However, Quds Press said that Israel has thought about assassinations in order to avoid involving itself in a battle with the Palestinian resistance in the besieged Gaza Strip.

“Israel’s assassination of senior resistance leaders will not affect the resistance factions or undermine the deterrence of resistance,” said Suhail Al-Hindi of the Hamas Political Bureau. He cited the examples of when Israel killed the founders and senior leaders of Palestinian factions. “The resistance groups have improved their capabilities and become more effective than ever.” As a result, he added, the Palestinian response to any Israeli assassination would be “destructive” for the occupation state.

Palestinian political analyst Fayez Abu Shammaleh believes that Israeli leaders are “looking for targets” because they are unable to bear the cost of a battle with the Palestinian resistance inside the country. “The political leaders want to appease the people who are angry at the failure to prevent Palestinian resistance attacks. At the same time, Israel is looking for a way to avoid the consequences of any such operation.”

Abu Shammaleh noted that the behaviour of the Israeli leadership and the split between senior military officers and politicians prove the effectiveness of the Palestinian resistance groups. “Israel knows that the assassination policy is not effective, as many such operations have taken place against the Palestinian resistance leaders and none have affected the abilities of the Palestinian resistance to fight back against the occupation.”

READ: ‘Assassination threats reflect Israeli bankruptcy,’ says resistance icon