The Rising Phoenix of Israel's Assassination Policy

Sergio Yahni, Alternative Information Center (AIC)

The funeral in Damascus for Mahmud Abdel Rauf al-Mabhuh. AIC, The assassination of Hamas leader Mahmud Abdel Rauf al-Mabhuh in Dubai on 20 January raised concerns in the region about Israeli efforts to neutralize Palestinian activists. According to reports in the press, al-Mabhuh was injected with a drug to induce heart failure. Smadar Peri, of the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, claims that the Israeli Mossad Kidon unit was responsible for the assassination, and that it was revenge for the kidnapping and killing of two Israeli soldiers twenty years ago. On 13 February, the Times reported that Israeli is being accused of waging a covert war across the Middle East, targeting key Palestinian and Lebanese political figures. The Times claims that the current wave of killings began in December, when a "tourist bus" carrying Iranian officials and Hamas members exploded outside Damascus. The official report by Syria claimed that a tire had exploded, but photographs surfaced showing the remains of the vehicle, prompting speculation that a much larger explosion had taken place. Several weeks later a meeting between members of Hamas and Hezbollah in the southern Beirut neighborhood of Dahia was also attacked, resulting in several deaths. According to the British newspaper, some countries question whether Israel isn’t taking credit to bolster the reputation of its defense establishment, while other Arab States describe the assassinations as a "covert war" waged by Israel. Diplomats say they were aware that covert Israeli operations had increased. "We watch their comings and goings; we are aware that there is more activity both on our ground and other countries in the region," said an Egyptian diplomat. "They are trying to embroil us all in their conflict." Together with its neutralization operations in Arab countries, Israel continues to target Palestinian activists in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In November 2008, Haaretz reported that the Israeli military and the General Security Services continue to assassinate activists, violating instructions of the Israeli Supreme Court of Justice. Haaretz newspaper revealed military documents that approve the assassination of Islamic Jihad leaders Wallid Ubeid, Ziad Malaishe and Adham Unis. The operation, named "Two Towers," was approved on 28 March 2007. The instructions warn that due to the sensitive situation in the West Bank, an effort must be made to avoid killing or injuring uncompromised people. Malaishe was assassinated during the second week of April 2007. The assassination was presented to the public as a confrontation, which was the policy of the Israeli military and the General Security Services since 14 December  2006. On that date, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that "it cannot be predetermined that every targeted assassination is in violation of international law, as it cannot be determined that all targeted assassinations are in accordance with international law." According to the decision, the Israeli security forces should have well established information to categorize someone as a candidate for targeted assassination. Furthermore, the Supreme Court ruled that people categorized as risks should not be assassinated if there is the possibility of arresting them. Consequently, the operations are presented as attempted "arrests," however their true objective is the assassination of the individuals targeted. Yair Naveh, who was the General Commander of the Israeli military Central Command when the assassinations of Wallid Ubeid, Ziad Malaishe and Adham Unis were approved, said to Haaretz: "These are guys for whom we received principled confirmation that they are ticking bombs. These are guys that if we had contact with them, as we knew they are armed, so the automatic choice was not to begin calling them to halt and then to see if they run away or not, but already at the beginning if they don’t raise they hands and thrown down their weapons we fire upon them." In this case, as in other assassination cases, Naveh does not care about the Supreme Court instructions regarding targeted assassinations. "Leave me alone about the High Court instructions," he said. "I don’t know when the High Court instructions were issued and when they weren’t." Assassinations of Palestinian leaders, inside and outside of Palestine, are not new to Israeli policies since 1967. However, this has failed to end Palestinian resistance or the Palestinian desire for independence, and there is nothing to suggest that the current situation is any different