On the timing of a killing

A couple of days ago, the Israeli air force assassinated a senior leader of the militant Palestinian group, Islamic Jihad. 

Col. (res.) Omer Bar-Lev, member of Parliament (Labour) and son of a former Chief of Staff, Haim Bar-Lev, came out with a statement that this assassination was carried out for internal political reasons. For his opinion, Bar-Lev was immediately ticked off by his own party leader as well as by Israel’s President Rivlin. 

Bar-Lev, who did not speak out against targeted assassinations, nor against the killing of this specific Palestinian, simply said what is blatantly obvious, that Netanyahu – who is fighting for his political life and perhaps even his freedom from jail – has timed his decision to assassinate now in order to further his personal needs.

A statement such as Bar-Lev’s is extremely unusual in Israel, a country in which, military activity regularly freezes any critical thinking. Uttering such criticism is considered as near treason. Most other Israeli politicians either agree with the killing or don’t have the balls to speak out.