op-ed: The Israeli threat to resume assassinations

It seems that the occupying power is serious this time in its threats to assassinate the leaders of the Palestinian resistance, especially the leaders of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other military leaders, especially since this threat came from Prime Minister Netanyahu, along with other Israeli forums that described the deputy head of the political bureau of Hamas, Saleh al-Arouri, as Head of Al-Aqsa and poses a strategic threat to Israel.

The return of the occupying power to the policy of assassination is expected at any moment. Although this aggressive method was stopped during the truce between Hamas and the occupation, mediated by Arabs. However, the occupying power is ready to violate the agreements whenever it wants. It is not bound by any agreements, and many of its leaders declare agreements unholy. Just as it did not abide by the Oslo Accords, but rather shirked even though it detracts from the national rights of our people, it will do so now, after it assassinated months ago the field leaders of the Jihad movement in the Gaza Strip, Damascus and elsewhere..

The occupying power believes that a return to assassinations can stop the resistance and operations against it in the West Bank, especially as it accuses Hamas, Jihad, Hezbollah and Iran of being behind these operations, which have so far led to the killing of about 35 Israelis, including soldiers and settlers.

The occupying power also believes that through assassinations it can stop the protests and demonstrations against the Netanyahu government because of what it is doing to weaken the Israeli judiciary, in favor of Netanyahu, who is trying, through this, to save himself from charges of corruption and treason against him. He believes that through assassinations he is killing two birds with one stone, as the saying goes. Stop the massive protests against his government and evading the prison. But what Netanyahu and his government's extremists and racists missed is that these assassinations, if they resume, do not intimidate our people and will not make them retreat from continuing the struggle for the full realization of their inalienable national rights of return, self-determination, and the establishment of an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.

Likewise, any attempt to take this step by assassinating Palestinian leaders, especially those whom Israel accuses of being leaders of the resistance, the consequences of this will be wide and will affect the occupying state and not only the Palestinian side. Especially since the occupying state rejects peace and is working on expansion and annexation and the establishment of more settlements in the West Bank, including Jerusalem. It works to increase the number of settlers to establish an apartheid state.

Also, the other parties that the occupying state accuses of supporting the armed resistance in the West Bank, such as the Lebanese Hezbollah, Iran and Syria, will not stand idly by, which may lead to a wide war that does not know when it will end and the occupying state will be a loser, by all standards, if this war and escalation erupts. 

The question is: Will the occupying power adopt a policy of returning to assassinations, or is that just an Israeli attempt to verbal deterrence?