Israel’s long-favored policy of killing its adversaries among militant groups in Palestine and neighboring countries "has not achieved outstanding success and it might achieve even less in the future," Dr Marco Carnelos, a former Italian Diplomat, Middle East Adviser of Prime Ministers Prodi and Berlusconi, and Special Envoy for Syria and the Middle East Peace Process told Sputnik.
“The Israelis wrongly believe that their claimed right to provoke anybody, anywhere, anytime will scare their enemies, I am afraid this calculus does not work anymore, if it ever worked,” he stated.
Israel has been pursuing a policy of assassinations for decades, noted the CEO of MC Geopolicy consulting, and appears to have no desire to change it.
“The message is simple: whoever hits us, sooner or later will pay with their life,” said Carnelos.
But the elimination of Hamas’ leaders “has not weakened the movement at all, on the contrary,” he underscored, adding:
“I believe that the Palestinian society will continue to struggle against the Israeli occupation as it did so in the last decades. Once a Palestinian leader is eliminated another one is immediately ready to step in.”
On Wednesday, Hamas confirmed that its political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, had been killed in an attack on his residence in Tehran after he took part in the inauguration of newly elected Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian. Hamas has blamed Israel and the US for Haniyeh's death. On Tuesday night, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a strike in a southern suburb of Beirut, killing Hezbollah commander Sayyed Mohsen also known as "Fuad Shukr.". The Israeli military also claimed that its airstrike in mid-July on a Gaza compound had killed Muhammad Deif, the head of the military wing of the Palestinian movement Hamas. However, it is currently unclear whether Deif was taken out by the strike in southern Gaza on July 13 that killed 70, with nearly 290 people injured, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
By continuing to target Hamas leaders for elimination amid ongoing ceasefire negotiations, Israel intends to make the point that “it is entitled to do everything without accountability,” believes Dr. Carnelos.
“It is a purely psychological move aimed to show its superiority and its impunity to push the others to adjust to its policy and to bend to its will,” he remarked.
While Hamas, Iran, and Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah have all vowed retaliation for the killings, there is only one political dividend that is contemplated by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – to stay in power, according to the pundit.
“Therefore, if the continuation of the conflict is useful for his staying in power, as he apparently believes, he will not spare any efforts to extend his grip on Israel’s premiership. If the Axis of Resistance will react, Netanyahu can claim the existence of a permanent state of war and further justify his staying in power and the impossibility to go to early elections,’ concluded Dr. Carnelos.