«THE murder of Ismail Haniya is justified based on who he was and what he has committed. The question is, since we were capable of destroying him from 2,000 kilometers away, why did we need to invade Gaza 10 months ago? If this was the way it was supposed to be done – and it’s not the only way – it should have been done from the beginning.” says in “Vima” o Alon Pinkasformer consul general of Israel in New York, foreign policy adviser to former prime minister Ehud Barak, political adviser to former president Shimon Peres, chief of staff to former foreign ministers Shlomo Ben Ami and David Levi and member of the Israeli delegation to the peace talks Israel – of Syria in 2000.
“In other words, if the assassination of Haniya is part of Israel’s strategy, it should have been carried out at an early stage.” adds the Israeli diplomat about the killing of the political leader of Hamas in the early hours of last Wednesday in Tehran. He thinks that “given Iran’s involvement” and of that “This is not an isolated murder”as a few hours earlier (on Tuesday night) in Beirut the assassination of the top official of the military arm of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Fuad Soukr, “Israel is seriously considering all possible consequences as well as possible precautions”.
“It is premature to call Haniya’s assassination a turning point”
However, both the murders of Hamas and Hezbollah officials, according to Pinkas, are “connected”. Their common point is Tehran: “Hezbollah has connections with Iran and Haniya was assassinated in Tehran, which also implicates the Iranian government” who hosted him and was responsible for his safety.
“However, it is premature to call the assassination of Chania a turning point” clarifies our Israeli interlocutor. “Only in case of serious escalation with Iran will it prove to be”.
The assassination of “Hezbollah’s No. 2” in Beirut was, he estimates, “Israel’s retaliation for last weekend’s missile strike on the Golan Heights with Druze casualties”, altough “Israel’s intelligence services consider this to be a mistake. It was not really aimed at a blow against the Druze. But the question that arises is whether Hezbollah will, in turn, retaliate.”.
“If there is an escalation, the Americans will be drawn to get involved”
Two killings nearly 10 months after the start of Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip, where the situation remains at an impasse. “No ceasefire, no hostage deal, no one knows if there will be an escalation with Hezbollah or with Iran. And everyone is wondering where all this is leading. The core of the problem for the Israeli government is that it has no strategy at all, only a series of tactical moves.” Pinkas notes, stressing that even the recent murders “they have no strategic importance. Great, we killed one, we killed two. They deserved to be killed. But they are sure to be replaced”.
The US has so far not intervened substantially. “Logically, if there is an escalation, the Americans will be drawn to get involved. They are waiting to see how things develop in the next period before making any move.”.
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