(i24)Israel’s Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Saturday that former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused proposals to assassinate Hamas militant group leaders when he was premier.
Lieberman noted that Netanyahu approved the release of Hamas’ current leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, during the prisoner exchange deal for Gilad Shalit back in 2011, while speaking to Israel’s Channel 12.
Netanyahu “was the one who prevented any attempt to kill the heads of Hamas,” the head of the Yisrael Beytenu party explained.
Sinwar spent years in an Israeli prison after his conviction in 1989 for conducting the kidnapping and execution of two Israeli soldiers.
Netanyahu’s Twitter said in response that he instructed the killing of Hamas leader Ahmaed Jabari in 2012 and ordered Operation Guardian of the Walls prolonged to attempt to kill Sinwar and the head of Hamas’s military wing, Mohammed Deif.
The tweet said that this was “contrary to pressure from various elements in Israel.”
“Under Netanyahu, Hamas knew it would pay a price. Under Bennett, they feel his weakness and grow bold,” it said.
According to Lieberman, who served as defense minister under Netanyahu, any resumption of targeted killings needed to be discussed in the security cabinet.
Sinwar has repeatedly called for Palestinians to attack Israelis, praising the terrorists who killed 19 people in Israel and the West Bank since March 22.
