Learning From Israel’s Political Assassination Program

Learning From Israel’s Political Assassination Program
Some in the current Israeli government seem to believe
that its new covert alliances with Sunni Arab states like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates against Iran will furnish a strategic path out — that the Arab states will persuade the Palestinians to give up and reconcile themselves to Israeli suzerainty.
For those looking for a more comprehensive account, try Daniel Byman’s outstanding "A High Price: The Triumphs and Failures of Israeli Counterterrorism," or Ami Pedahzur’s older
but still insightful "The Israeli Secret Services and the Struggle Against Terrorism." Yet the biggest thing (almost) left out of Bergman’s book is that targeted killing offers no end to the terrorism.
By the end of Bergman’s book, targeted killing feels almost like a drug
that Israel uses to treat the worst symptom (terrorism) of a terrible disease (Palestinian anger).
Targeted killings, barriers and other security activities can suppress terror attacks, but it is not at all clear
that Israel can ever win the hearts and minds of the Palestinians, the crucial foundation for Palestinian terrorist groups.
It consigns Israel to endless repression, endless assassinations, endless criticism
and endless racking internal debate like that which Bergman diligently recounts.
Americans now have a terrific new introduction to that story with the publication of Ronen Bergman’s "Rise
and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations." It’s easy to understand why Bergman’s book is already a best seller.