Haniyeh targeted killing reverberates across world
The assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in a targeted attack in Tehran on Wednesday blamed on Israel has stunned the international community and drew condemnations from many countries, international bodies and figures.
Hamas’s armed wing said that the assassination of its political leader Ismail Haniyeh would take the war with Israel to “new levels,” warning of repercussions for the entire region.
“The criminal assassination of leader Haniyeh in the heart of the Iranian capital is a watershed and dangerous event that takes the war to new levels and will have enormous consequences for the entire region,” the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, whose fighters are engaged in fierce battles with Israeli troops in Gaza, said in a statement.
Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of Yemen’s Ansarullah movement’s political bureau, called it a “heinous terrorist crime,” saying that the assassination is a flagrant violation of laws and ideal values.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah group also condemned the killing of Hamas leader, warning his death will only increase the resolve of resistance groups.
“The martyrdom of leader Haniyeh... will increase the determination and stubbornness of the resistance fighters on all fronts... and will make their resolve stronger in confronting the Zionist enemy,” Hezbollah said in a statement.
The group described Haniyeh as “one of the great resistance leaders of our time who stood bravely against the American hegemony project and the Zionist occupation.”
Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas slammed the killing as “a cowardly act and a serious escalation,” his office said in a statement.
‘Shameful
assassination’
Haniyeh was based in Qatar, which has been a mediator in the Gaza conflict, but also spent time in Turkey after going into exile. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry called the killing a “heinous crime” and “shameful assassination.”
The ministry said, “This assassination and the reckless Israeli behavior of continuously targeting civilians in Gaza will lead to the region slipping into chaos and undermine the chances of peace.”
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned what he called the “treacherous assassination” of his “brother” Haniyeh.
“This shameful act aims to sabotage the Palestinian cause, the glorious Gazan resistance and our Palestinian brothers’ just fight, and to intimidate Palestinians,” Erdogan added in a social media post.
Call for cease-fire
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that the United States was “not aware of or involved in” the killing of Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.
“I can’t tell you what this means. I can tell you that the imperative of getting a
cease-fire, the importance that that has for everyone, remains,” Blinken said in an interview with Channel NewsAsia in Singapore.
Germany stressed international calls for restraint to avoid “a regional conflagration,” with a foreign ministry spokesman saying, “The logic of tit-for-tat reprisals is the wrong path.”
Reactions from Russia,
China
Haniyeh went to Moscow in September 2022 for talks on the Israel-Palestinian conflict while Hamas and rival Palestinian faction Fatah held talks in Beijing last week.
“It is a completely unacceptable political assassination, and this will lead to a further escalation of tensions,” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said, “We are highly concerned about the incident and firmly oppose and condemn the assassination.”
Threat to West Asia’s
security
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said that Israel’s “dangerous escalation” in recent days “risks igniting a confrontation in the region that could yield to dire security consequences.” Iraq’s Foreign Ministry also called Haniyeh’s killing “a threat to security and stability in the region.” Oman also condemned the action.
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers called Haniyeh’s death “a great loss.”
Syrian government condemned Haniyeh’s assassination, accusing Israel of launching an attack against Iran that constitutes “a violation of international law.”
Jordan has accused Israel of the assassination of Haniyeh. Jordan’s foreign minister described the assassination as a heinous crime and violation of international law.
The UK Foreign Ministry called for de-escalation and an immediate cease-fire following Haniyeh’s assassination.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs offered condolences to Haniyeh’s “family and the people of Palestine,” expressing “serious concern” over “growing Israeli adventurism in the region.”
Iraq on Wednesday condemned the killing in Tehran, warning that it threatens the region’s stability.
Iraq’s Foreign Ministry in a statement described the killing as a “flagrant violation of international law and a threat to security and stability in the region.”
Extrajudicial killings
The European Union “has a principled position of rejecting extrajudicial killings,” said Peter Stano, the EU’s spokesperson for foreign affairs and security
policy.
He said the EU was closely following developments around the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.