Police sappers inspect site of a rocket that landed on Road 4 in Israel. (photo credit: POLICE SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)
US Ambassador David M. Friedman said the US stands “with our friend and ally Israel at this critical moment” on social media on Tuesday after roughly 170 rockets were fired on Israel from the Gaza Strip.
Friedman further said Islamic Jihad, “an Islamist terrorist org backed by Iran” is attacking Israel with “100’s of missiles aimed at civilians.”
Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman claimed in an interview with Walla News that he wanted to target kill top Islamic Jihad commander Bahaa Abu al-Ata a year ago, when serving as Defense Minister, and that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the one who resisted and prevented it.
“I claimed a year ago that we should have looked for a targeted killing of [al-Ata], then it was the prime minister who forcefully prevented it. It doesn’t matter why, he just did – but it’s better late than never,” Liberman said.
President Reuven Rivlin and politicians from across the political spectrum came out in support of the IDF operation Tuesday morning which killed al-Ata in the Gaza Strip earlier in the day.
“We stand behind the security forces, who have been working for the success of this morning’s operations for a long time,” Rivlin said in a statement. “I know that they, and the Israeli government that approved the operation, have Israel’s security, and only that, in their minds.
“This is no time for political squabbles, and those who do so bring no credit to themselves. It is the time to stop such statements immediately. Israeli citizens – please listen to the life-saving instructions of the IDF Home Front Command and take good care of yourselves.”
Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, a former IDF chief of staff, praised the military for its successful operation and said it was the “right decision.” He added that he had been updated about the strike before it was carried out.
“Blue and White will support any justified action taken to keep Israel safe, and we place the security of our residents above politics,” Gantz said.
His fellow party member, former chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi, said that “Israel sent an important message last night that every terrorist is within its reach, and his life is in danger.”
Joint List MK Heba Yazbak slammed the government for the assassination.
“This war is not just a political ploy but is part of the continued policy of occupation, siege and targeted killings,” she said. “No one dares to say, ‘enough of the occupation and enough of the violence.’”
Former Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz shared his support for Israel on Twitter.
“In these difficult hours my thoughts are with all Israelis who have had to seek refuge in shelters amid ongoing indiscriminate rocket attacks from Gaza, which I fully condemn,” he wrote. “Israel has every right to protect its civilian population and defend itself.”
Hamas, however, said that Israel must pay a price for al-Ata’s assassination.
In these difficult hours my thoughts are with all Israelis who have had to seek refuge in shelters amid ongoing indiscriminate rocket attacks from #Gaza which I fully condemn. #Israel has every right to protect its civilian population and defend itself. @RodgoldMD
— Sebastian Kurz (@sebastiankurz) November 12, 2019
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement that “the blood of our people and leaders is a redline and precious to all Palestinians.” The killing of al-Ata, he added, is a “dangerous escalation and a continuation of the aggression and crimes against our people and its resistance.”
Barhoum accused the Israeli government of seeking to “export its internal crises and impose new equations” and said that Israel “must pay the price and bear responsibility for the consequences” of the targeted killing.
PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat condemned the assassination as a “crime.”
Erekat, in a statement published by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority news agency Wafa, said that the Israeli government bears “full responsibility for the results of this crime.”
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