Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said that security officials in Israel have been interested for some time in the assassination of Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of the political bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), because they believe that he is leading attempts to spark a new uprising in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli newspaper linked Al-Arouri’s calls for direct confrontation with the Israeli army and settlers to the increase in Palestinian operations in the West Bank in recent months, including two operations in Hawara and Hebron a few days ago, in which 3 settlers were killed.
Yedioth Ahronoth said that retired Israeli general Eitan Dangot – who was military secretary to 3 defense ministers – has been calling for the liquidation of Al-Arouri for years.
General Dangote told the newspaper, “He (Arouri) is, in my opinion, the most dangerous and important person in Hamas today.”
The newspaper claimed that Al-Arouri is moving events and coordinating operations in the West Bank while he is sitting at his residence in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
She said that the recent warnings of Al-Arouri and the Palestinian factions of the consequences of Israel’s return to the policy of assassinations mean that the Palestinians see that Tel Aviv’s recent decisions herald the implementation of assassinations.
The Israeli cabinet held a meeting last Tuesday for 3 hours, and said at its conclusion that it had taken a series of decisions to “strike terrorists and whoever sends them,” and authorized the prime minister and defense minister to act accordingly, in response to the recent Palestinian operations in the West Bank.
assassination policy
And last April, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued directives to members of his government not to make any statements regarding a return to the policy of assassinations, in the wake of the controversy aroused by the repeated statements of the Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir, in which he called on the security services to carry out assassinations of resistance leaders in response to the operations. armed forces in the West Bank.
Saleh Al-Arouri is considered one of the most prominent leaders of Hamas, and he contributed to the establishment of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the movement, and he spent 15 years in the occupation prisons.
Israel accuses him of standing behind many of the operations carried out by the Palestinian resistance in the West Bank, and he is a member of the negotiating team in the “Loyalty of the Free” deal (Gilad Shalit deal).
Al-Arouri said during a television interview yesterday, Friday, that the occupation’s repeated threats to assassinate him will not change his path by an inch, as he put it.
At the same time, he warned that the Israeli government and its security cabinet are considering a series of steps that could lead to a “comprehensive regional war.”
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2023-08-26 20:38:04
