Security tightening on the leaders of “Hamas” and “Jihad” in anticipation of a “possible assassination”
The leaders of “Hamas” and “Islamic Jihad” in the Gaza Strip and abroad took additional security precautions for fear of a possible assassination that Israel might carry out, in response to the recent series of operations in the West Bank.
An informed source in the Gaza Strip told Asharq Al-Awsat that “Israel’s carrying out a treacherous operation is a possibility that the factions always take into account, but there are indications that Israel may commit a new foolishness at this time, and that is why the current procedures have been tightened and changed.”
He added, “The measures have been tightened against specific officials, abroad and in the Gaza Strip.”
The new measures came after hints to the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that Israel’s response to the recent operations in the West Bank would reach the perpetrators of the attacks.
Netanyahu said, during his inspection of the site of a shooting attack in the city of Hebron, in the southern West Bank, on Monday, which resulted in the death of a female settler and the wounding of her husband: “We will hold the killers and their messengers accountable as well, from near or far.” Netanyahu’s words were translated as intending to target Iran or leaders in “Hamas” and “Islamic Jihad” in Gaza or abroad.
The source said that foreign officials, who are at the top of the Israeli assassination list, took the necessary measures, while the factions in the Gaza Strip raised their alert.
It should be noted that the Palestinian factions experienced sudden Israeli assassinations, abroad and in the Gaza Strip more than once. Walid al-Qutati, a member of the political bureau of the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine, said, “The movement deals with complete seriousness with the repeated threats of the Zionist enemy,” and acts as describing all possible and possible scenarios.
He added, “All scenarios are possible and all tested, and we should beware of repeating assassination scenarios inside and outside Palestine.”
Israeli security forces at the scene of a shooting attack south of Hebron on August 21
And while Israel decided to escalate the attacks in the West Bank, and began to arrest dozens of “Hamas” and “Jihad” members every night and planned a wide campaign in order to reach the largest number of weapons as well, no official approach was made public regarding the resumption of assassinations, a decision that could cost Great new face.
The security cabinet met, on Tuesday, without announced results. Netanyahu’s office issued a statement after the meeting, saying that the ministers agreed on “a series of decisions to target terrorists,” and authorized the prime minister and defense minister to “act in this matter.” The statement did not clarify what those decisions were.
The council was initially scheduled to be held on the 10th of next month, but Netanyahu decided to hold the session at an earlier date after the killing of an Israeli settler, last Monday, in a second shooting incident in the West Bank, and the third fatality was within two days.
A quarrel between two ministers
The Israeli right is pressing for a number of measures, including a return to the policy of assassinations.
And Israeli media published parts of a quarrel that took place in the security meeting between Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who was exposed the day before to “accusations from Ben Gvir and other extremist nationalist ministers, that he is “following a soft policy.”
Netanyahu, Galant, and the Chief of Staff (left)… and an overall tension in relations (the Israeli army)
According to the leaks, Ben Gvir called on the Israeli army to impose closures on Palestinian villages, in addition to setting up more checkpoints throughout the West Bank, canceling entry permits for Palestinian workers, carrying out targeted assassinations of leaders of Palestinian armed movements and continuing to tighten the conditions of Palestinian security prisoners in prisons. Israeli.
But Gallant responded by saying that “there is a risk of friction that needs to be taken into account.” He criticized settler violence that occupied the Israeli army to the extent that the Palestinian factions took advantage of this weakness to carry out more attacks.
The speech provoked Ben Gvir, who commented, “I feel as if I am in a fantasy movie. People (Israelis) are being killed and you are constantly talking about the danger of friction and the danger of Jewish national crime. Are we crazy? I’m starting to think we’re in Switzerland, as if that’s our only problem. This meeting is about terrorism. We need to come up with practical measures of what to do to combat terrorism and not deal with this nonsense.”
Ben Gvir speaks with Benjamin Netanyahu during a session in the Knesset last July (EPA)
A source familiar with the matter said that the security officials at the meeting rejected Ben Gvir’s proposals, and insisted on continuing the policy of distinguishing between the militants and the rest of the Palestinian population, whose living conditions are in Israel’s interest.
It is assumed that Israel will decide on the issue of assassinations from a forum smaller than the ministers, given Netanyahu’s lack of confidence in cabinet members like Ben Gvir.
The source, who spoke to the Israeli “Walla” website, indicated that the security establishment is still opposed to launching a large-scale military operation in the West Bank similar to “Operation Defensive Shield” in 2002, despite the demand of Ben Gvir and other extreme right-wing lawmakers.
Regarding Netanyahu’s recent statements that Israel will respond to the militants and those responsible for sending them to carry out attacks, the source explained that the prime minister was hinting at targeting Iran.
2023-08-24 17:11:26
#Soldiers #God #attack #nightclub #Beirut #rejecting #homosexuality
