By James M. Dorsey

Israel’s assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s chief ceasefire negotiator, was not an isolated incident in Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s effort to undermine the talks while insisting he was negotiating in good faith.

To be sure, ceasefire negotiations may not have been the main reason for the killing in Tehran of Mr. Haniyeh, one of Hamas’ most prominent leaders. Israel has vowed to hunt down Hamas leaders wherever they are and whenever the opportunity arises.

Even so, the ceasefire aspect of Mr. Haniyeh’s killing takes on added significance amidst mounting criticism of Mr. Netanyahu’s negotiating tactics from Israeli negotiators, including heads of intelligence services and senior military officials, and mounting public pressure to secure the release of more than 100 Hamas-held hostages by ending the war.

Please read further, watch the video, or listen to the audio at https://jamesmdorsey.substack.com/p/hamas-leaders-killing-netanyahus

By James M. Dorsey

is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies as Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, co-director of the Institute of Fan Culture of the University of Würzburg and the author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer, and a forthcoming book with the same title.