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Deputy Defense Minister: Islamic Jihad Needs to "Understand that They Can't Shoot at Israel Whenever They Want"
(Jerusalem Post) Lahav Harkov - Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Avi Dichter said Thursday that the targeted killing of Baha Abu al-Ata was necessary in order to create a deterrent against Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) attacking Israel, because that deterrence had weakened. "Al-Ata planned rocket attacks and all the attempts to prevent them didn't succeed, so we had to take him out," Dichter said. "We had to make sure PIJ would understand that they can't shoot at Israel whenever they want." That Hamas stayed out of the fighting this week shows that Israel has strongly deterred it, he added. "We finished this round with zero killed and very few lightly injured...but when you look at the expectations of the other side, what PIJ wanted, they wanted blood and death here in Israel. They shot over 400 rockets to kill Israelis."