Israel: A Thug State
Al-Ahram, Egypt, August 1
The recent Israeli assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’ political bureau, in Tehran was hardly unexpected. This action is in line with a well-documented and consistent Israeli policy that dates back through its history. Israel has orchestrated the assassinations of dozens of Palestinian leaders and figures—numbering well over a hundred. Prominent names such as Ghassan Kanafani, Kamal Adwan, Kamal Nasser, Ali Hassan Salameh, Zuheir Mohsen, Khalil al-Wazir (Abu Jihad), Salah Khalaf, Fathi Shaqaqi, Ahmed Yassin, Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, and many others remain etched in the memories of our generation. Many of these slain leaders were affiliated with the Palestine Liberation Organization or its various factions. The assassination of Haniyeh recalls an impactful book that I encountered but regrettably could not obtain. Published in 2018, it bears a Talmudic-inspired title: Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel’s Assassinations. This book, authored by the esteemed researcher Ronen Bergman, is the result of more than a thousand interviews with political figures and intelligence officers across various countries, coupled with an examination of thousands of classified documents. Bergman’s exhaustive research led him to conclude that since the end of World War II in 1945, Israel has conducted more assassinations than any other Western nation. The targets have ranged from leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization to Iranian nuclear scientists and figures within Hamas and Hezbollah. One notable case that remains vivid is the assassination of Egyptian nuclear scientist Yahya El Mashad, who was working on the Iraqi nuclear program. He was killed in his Paris hotel room in June 1980, an act that I firmly believe was orchestrated by Mossad. This pattern of state-sponsored assassinations prompts a grave reflection. In my estimation, when it comes to Israel, we are confronting a particularly unique type of state—what I term the “thug state.” —Osama Al-Ghazali Harb (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)
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