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News

Hamas leader’s assassination “provocative”

todayAugust 1, 2024 79

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International relations expert, Professor John Stremlau, has described the killing of Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, as provocative.

Haniyah was assassinated in a strike in Tehran where he was attending the inauguration of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian.

According to reports, one of his bodyguards also lost his life in the ambush.

Iran has since declared three days of mourning.

This attack has sparked fears of heightened tensions in the Middle East.

Stremlau has told YNews that this could hamper the ongoing ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas.

Thousands of people gathered in Iran’s capital city Tehran on Thursday to commemorate the life of the assassinated Hamas leader.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, led funeral prayers at a memorial event, where mourners gathered with posters of Haniyeh and Palestinian flags.

The ceremony opened with an address from Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who described Haniyeh as the voice of the Palestinian people all over the world.

“He was not only a leader. He was the wise man,” said Ghalibaf.

Ghalibaf also warned that Haniyeh’s assassination will not go unanswered.

The 62-year-old’s body will be flown to the Qatari capital, Doha, for burial.

His killing comes amid concerns of war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah following a Saturday rocket attack on Israel.

Meanwhile, countries like Qatar, Russia, Turkey and Egypt, amongst others, have condemned the hit on Haniyah, with some calling it a ‘despicable act’ and an ‘unacceptable political murder’.

The US has on the other hand denied involvement in the assassination.

Stremlau reiterates that a ‘two-state solution’ is the only way to end the war between the Palestinians and Israel.

Stremlau believes the incident is a perfect diversion for Russian President, Vladmir Putin, who is facing condemnation over his aggression on Ukraine.

South African International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) Minister, Ronald Lamola, has called for a probe into Haniyeh’s murder.

 

The strike that killed Haniyeh came just hours after Israel said it had killed a top Hezbollah commander in a retaliatory strike on the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

The killings took place as regional tensions were already inflamed by the war in Gaza, a conflict that has drawn in Iran-backed militant groups in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.

Dirco spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri, says the “extrajudicial killings” violate international law.

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) has dismissed Lamola’s call as bias.

The organisation says Dirco first showed its pro-Hamas stance when Lamola’s predecessor, Naledi Pandor, made a call to Haniyeh in the aftermath of the militant group’s October 7 attack on Israel which led to retaliatory strikes from Tel Aviv.

“The depiction of Haniyeh in Dirco’s statement ignores the atrocities he was responsible for, both against the people of Gaza and against Israeli civilians. Haniyeh used his position to amass extreme wealth, living in luxury in exile while the people he led suffered in poverty and hunger. Given Haniyeh’s history, the hypocrisy of the SA government’s statement is frankly ludicrous,” adds the Jewish rights group.

Social media users have also been weighing in on Haniyeh’s assassination, which comes a few months after three of his sons were killed when an Israeli air strike allegedly struck the car they were driving. Haniyeh also lost four of his grandchildren in that attack.

Written by: Nonhlanhla Harris

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