Expect Hamas terror response to mystery hit
WHO KILLED Hamas commander Mazen Fuqaha last Friday night in Gaza? Does Hamas even know? Does it matter now that they have blamed Israel and the onus is on them to exact public revenge?
Killings in Gaza are routinely carried out using explosives, the sophistication of which can usually indicate the source. Fuqaha was killed by anonymous gunmen who melted away into the night.
Israel, of course, is the prime suspect. Fuqaha, a senior Hamas operative who was released in 2011 as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange has, ever since, been a member of the “West Bank Command”, directing the movement’s cells from Gaza.
If he had been planning a terror attack, he would have been deemed by Israel a “ticking bomb”. The unorthodox method of his assassination would have been used to prevent Hamas from claiming a direct attack, which would have forced them to retaliate with rockets from Gaza, leading to an escalation.
But there are any number of reasons Fuqaha’s “colleagues” could have wanted him dead, such as collaboration with rival organisations.
The killing came amid reports of a growing number of Hamas operatives joining groups aligned with Daesh.
Meanwhile, Fuqaha’s fellow former prisoner, Yahya Sinwar, is now taking over the role of political leader in Gaza. As Hamas undergoes a tense period of transition at the top, anger is growing over Gaza’s economic stagnation. Whoever ordered and carried out the hit, Hamas is under huge pressure to improve conditions in Gaza and follow up their accusations against Israel with deeds. This suggests that soon there will be an attempted terror attack in the West Bank or in Israel.
Israel and the PA have largely been successful in preventing Hamas from reestablishing its military infrastructure in the West Bank. The head of the “West Bank Command”, Saleh Arouri, has been further hampered by the rapprochement between Israel and Turkey, which forced him to move from Istanbul to Doha in Qatar. With its options shrinking, the fear is that Hamas will resort to desperate acts.