Israel vows to make up for Oct. 7 ‘defeat’ with assassinations
Sovereignty absurd to terrorist ‘state’
According to a leaked recording, the head of Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet, has vowed to hunt down members of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in Lebanon, Turkey, and Qatar.
Ronen Bar, who has not spoken publicly since October 7, also took responsibility for Israeli security failures that contributed to the Hamas attack, The New Arab reported.
Israel’s public broadcaster Kan aired the audio on Sunday, where Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar can be heard saying: “The cabinet has set us a goal, in street talk, to eliminate Hamas.”
“We will do this everywhere, in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Lebanon, in Turkey, in Qatar. It will take a few years, but we will be there to do it.”
It was unclear when Bar made the remarks, or to whom. The agency declined to comment on the report.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas since launching its own air and ground assault on Gaza, which has killed more than 15,500 people, including over 6,000 children.
Israel has bombed Gaza for two months after Hamas fighters launched an attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people.
Other than in Gaza, Hamas leaders reside in, or frequently visit, Lebanon, Turkey, and Qatar.
Qatar helped mediate a week-long truce that saw hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and dozens of Israeli captives released. The truce broke down on Friday.
Bar’s comments appear to be the first time that a senior Israeli figure has vowed that Israel will target Hamas figures in Qatar or Turkey, Kan reported.
Bar, who has not spoken publicly since October 7, took some responsibility for the security failure during the attack.
“The security responsibility is ours. Our duty is to provide both security and a sense of security. Unfortunately, on October 7, we were unable to do it,” Bar said.
Taher al-Nono, a media adviser to the head of Hamas’ political bureau, brushed off Bar’s comments, saying: “The threats… do not frighten any of the movement’s leaders.”
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that Israeli officials had said they plan to assassinate Hamas officials in Lebanon, Qatar, and Turkey.
Israel has carried out assassinations of Palestinian leaders in the Middle East, Europe, and beyond since its creation in 1948.
On September 25, 1997, Mossad agents, acting under orders from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his security cabinet, attempted to assassinate the former head of Hamas, Khaled Mashal. The agents, disguised as tourists, injected a fast-acting poison into Mashal but were not quick enough to escape. With the scandal erupting, then-head of Mossad Danny Yatom flew to Jordan and brought an antidote to treat Mashal, with Netanyahu’s consent.
However, Israel has not always failed in what can only be called committing “state” terrorism. One should hesitate to call Israel’s assassinations around the world “state”-sponsored terrorism, as its agencies do not rely on outsourcing the dirty work to foreign hitmen. They typically roll up their sleeves and carry out assassination attempts in sovereign states.
Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, an Iranian nuclear scientist, was assassinated in a road ambush on November 27, 2020, by a one-ton gun smuggled into Iran in pieces by the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, according to a report by The Jewish Chronicle. In a June 2021 television interview, former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen offered Israel’s closest admission yet of its responsibility for the assassination.
In 2018, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned Fakhrizadeh by name several times in a news conference. “Remember that name,” he said. “Fakhrizadeh.”
Another high-profile target, Yasser Arafat, the former president of the Palestinian National Authority, may have died as a consequence of polonium poisoning, a report by Swiss scientists published by Al Jazeera television revealed, prompting new allegations by his widow that the Palestinian leader was murdered.
On February 16, 1992, former Hezbollah secretary General Abbas al-Musawi was killed, along with six other people, including his wife and son. IDF helicopters attacked his convoy with missiles while traveling in southern Lebanon.
Fathi Shaqaqi, the co-founder of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, was also assassinated by Mossad agents in Malta in 1995.