Israeli paper: Mossad should assassinate Hamas leaders abroad

The correspondent for the Israeli occupation army at the Hebrew Maariv newspaper has launched an incitement campaign against the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, and called for the assassination of leaders of the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, in the diaspora.

In an article, the correspondent said it is no longer acceptable for the Mossad to continue to sit idly by while Hamas leaders abroad continue to manage the battle in Gaza and lead negotiations for the release of Israeli captives.

He added, time has come for Hamas leaders Khalil Al-Hayya, Khaled Mashaal, Jihad Taha and others to become fugitives everywhere. “They should have been eliminated long ago, just as the Hamas leaders in Gaza should have been eliminated,” he wrote, adding that “Israel must act in every arena: above ground in Gaza, underground, and anywhere in the world where there is a Hamas element, whether large or small.

“Time is not on our side, and every additional day of fighting in Gaza increases the danger posed to our forces and diminishes the hope of freeing the hostages,” the article said.

He pointed out that the Israeli occupation army is designed for short wars, decided quickly and forcefully; “but today we face a chronic state of inability to resolve the battle against a terrorist organisation, at a time when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to belittle them, describing them as ‘a few Gazans wearing flip-flops and carrying Kalashnikovs’.”

“Israel is repeating the same mistakes it made in the past. Instead of formulating a real alternative to Hamas rule, such as replacing it with a Palestinian police force under Egyptian, Jordanian, Saudi, or American supervision, Netanyahu has decided to arm the people of Gaza, and even arm groups of gangs and families with various Salafist orientations,” he added.