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Source: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-812743
The Elimination of Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh Sends a Strong Message to Iran
(Jerusalem Post) Dr. Dan Diker - The elimination of Ismail Haniyeh, chairman of the Hamas political bureau (2017-2024) and a former Palestinian prime minister in Gaza (2006-2014), sends several important messages from Israel to Iran and its terror proxy network. Haniyeh's elimination in Tehran insulted the Iranians, revealed their weakness, and broadcast that Iranian leaders could be targeted and eliminated anywhere. It also sent a resonant message to the Iranian terror network that Israel is capable of reaching any terrorist leader when it decides to reach them. The Hamas government that Haniyeh led in Gaza, until he was replaced in 2016 by Yahya Sinwar, had militarized Hamas's operational capabilities extraordinarily since the early 2000s, with the assistance of Iran. Under Haniyeh's leadership, Hamas prosecuted several terror wars, including in 2008-2009, 2011-2012, and 2014-2015. It was Haniyeh who presided over Hamas when he directed and motivated thousands of Gazan boys to try to storm the fence in 2018 in what was called the "Great March of Return." It has been reported recently that Haniyeh was behind some of the intensive Qatari-sponsored efforts to implement a ceasefire, positioning himself in Western media as a peacemaker. This couldn't be further from the truth. Haniyeh's interest was in saving the Hamas regime and "blowing up" the negotiations by intensifying Hamas's demands. The writer is president of the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs.