Escaping the series of battlefield defeats at the hands of the valiant Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation army assassinated the Deputy Head of Hamas's Political Bureau and the movement's leader in the West Bank, Sheikh Saleh al-Arouri (57 years old). Last night (Tuesday), an Israeli drone targeted him in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, with a missile strike, resulting in his martyrdom, along with six others.
The elimination of al-Arouri constitutes a dual Israeli blow to both Lebanese Hezbollah and Hamas, as he was targeted while present in the movement's office located in the "Southern Suburb" of Beirut, a significant stronghold for the party. This meant that al-Arouri—and the movement's office—were under the party's hospitality and protection.
It is worth noting that Hezbollah's Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, had anticipated such an operation and previously warned Israel of grave consequences should it target any Palestinian, Syrian, or Iranian on Lebanese soil. Israel customarily targets Iranians on Syrian territory, most recently the Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander General Reza Mousavi, who was assassinated few days ago.
Piracy, Cowardice, and Betrayal
Why did Israel commit this crime by assassinating al-Arouri? And what are the implications and repercussions of this cowardly Israeli operation?
The "entity" is facing an unprecedented quandary and a military failing that has become apparent to the entire world in the diminished performance of the occupation army in the battlefields of Gaza; as it has failed to achieve any of its goals in eradicating Hamas, dismantling its military capabilities, and freeing prisoners.
Moreover, the relentless and documented strikes by the resistance have exposed the fragility of this mythical army. Therefore, the occupation resorted to piracy, cowardice, and betrayal in assassinating the Hamas leader al-Arouri… It behaves aggressively by killing and decimating unarmed civilians with barbaric aerial bombardment.
Israel sees the martyred Saleh al-Arouri as one of the architects of the "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation, and a crucial link and coordinator between his movement (Hamas) on one side, and Iran and Hezbollah on the other.
Nucleus of Al-Qassam Brigades
Besides al-Arouri's leadership of Hamas's military wing in the West Bank, he was among the founders of the Al-Qassam Brigades; launching its nucleus there in 1991. Al-Arouri's Hamas career has been significant, as he was imprisoned in occupation jails for 18 years, starting in 1990, until his release and expulsion from Palestinian territories in 2010.
Following his release, he was chosen as a member of Hamas's Political Bureau, then as the Deputy Head of the Bureau in 2017. Al-Arouri also played a part in managing the 2011 negotiations of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit's exchange deal through Egyptian mediation, for over a thousand Palestinian prisoners in occupation jails.
These details, among others, made him a target for the Zionist entity, and his name was circulated in Hebrew media last October, among six Hamas leaders marked for targeting.
Policy of Assassinations
If all these were motives for targeting al-Arouri, the "Zionist entity" constantly resorts to a policy of assassinating leaders of Palestinian resistance factions, whether in the occupied territories or abroad, hoping to annihilate the resistance itself, away from recognizing the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
The entity has not deviated from the assassination policy, killing dozens of leaders from various "movements and organizations" over half a century, without achieving the eradication of the "resistance"; as it tends to prepare alternative leaderships. While the Palestinian Liberation Organization has ceased armed struggle, it resulted from intellectual changes that led to falling into the trap of "Oslo Accords" 30 years ago.
Israeli Message to Hezbollah
As for the consequences and outcomes of the operation to assassinate the martyr Sheikh Saleh al-Arouri, it may negatively affect negotiations for a ceasefire and achieving a prisoner exchange deal, as Israel is exhausted from drowning in the mud of Gaza; with thousands of its soldiers falling dead and wounded, and severe losses in armored machinery.
Al-Arouri has been actively involved in the Hamas negotiating team for a ceasefire in Gaza and the prisoner exchange deal that is currently being negotiated through Qatari and Egyptian mediation.
Therefore, the assassination operation could broaden the scope of the war to encompass the entire region, between the Zionist entity and the resistance axis extending in Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, along with Gaza, as hinted by Hezbollah in its statement following the assassination, promising retaliation and punishment.
Israel, by assassinating Saleh al-Arouri in the heart of "Southern Suburb," Hezbollah's security stronghold, intends to send a message to the party that its men and party leaders are not beyond its reach and firepower. Especially since it had previously assassinated the party's military leader Imad Mughniyeh in 2008, in Syria.
Luring America to Strike Iran
The occupation may be seeking to provoke the party, to widen the scope of war, luring Iran and subsequently the United States to strike Iran, and to eliminate the party, or at least push it beyond the Litani River, securing the settlements in northern occupied territories along the border with Lebanon. Most likely, Hezbollah will not be able to swallow this "insult" to its prestige… Otherwise, it is apt to be repeated and reach its leaders.
In general, it is difficult to predict the ramifications of this event; The United States does not want the region to ignite… Yet it acted foolishly by not curbing Israel's aggression on the sector. Now America is faced with a choice, either to proceed further into the quagmire of the shifting sands of the Middle East and distracted from confronting the Chinese dragon and its historical foe Russia, or to extinguish the fire it helped ignite by its blind support and complete backing of the Zionist entity.
The martyred Sheikh Saleh al-Arouri, born in the town of Arrura near the occupied Palestinian city of Ramallah (in 1966), studied Islamic Sharia. He joined the Hamas movement following its establishment by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 1987, intended as a resistance movement.
Peace to the soul of the martyr al-Arouri and all the martyrs of resistance.
