For now, Israel is neither confirming nor denying any involvement in the assassination of Mazan Fukha, a senior commander in Hamas’ military wing, but that doesn’t really matter. The fact that Hamas leaders are attributing the assassination to Israel raises the tensions and the possibility of escalation on the Gazan front. Hamas will seek revenge, and experience shows that it will try to do so through a murderous terror attack.

The preference is to target soldiers or members of the Israeli security forces. This is a familiar tactic which we must prepare for. In general, therefore, the chance of a flare-up between Israel and the Palestinians in the strip increased upon Fukha’s assassination. It likely won’t happen tomorrow morning. They will wait with their revenge until they locate a weak spot and until they prepare it, but it may take place on the Gaza border or in the West Bank.

The question is: If Fukha was indeed assassinated by Israel, was it the right and appropriate thing to do? The answer—if that’s really what happened—is probably yes. Fukha is one of the 1,027 prisoners who were released in 2011 in exchange for kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. Immediately after his release, he joined the leadership of Hamas’ military wing and began initiating terror attacks.

Read the full article at YNet.