Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 4/08 Aktuelles aus israelischen Tageszeitungen 11.- 24. Februar 2008 1. Attentat auf Mughniya Am 13.02.08 kam Imad Mughniyah, nach Hassan Nasrallah Nr. 2 in der libanesischen Hisbollah, bei einem Attentat in Damaskus ums Leben. Der Top­Terrorist, der für Anschläge gegen Israel, die USA und jüdische Einrichtungen mit vielen hundert Todesopfern verantwortlich sein soll, fungierte als Militärchef der Hisbollah und stand in der westlichen Welt ganz oben auf den Fahndungslisten. Nach seinem Tod kam es sofort zu Spekulationen über den Hintergrund seiner Ermordung. Die israelische Regierung versteckte ihre Zufriedenheit mit dem Anschlag nicht, dementierte jedoch eine Beteiligung. Allerdings vermittelten israelische Medien durchaus den Eindruck, dass israelische Geheimdienste ver­antwortlich sein könnten. Andererseits wurde auch in Betracht gezogen, dass das Attentat von amerikanischer Hand oder wegen interner Streitigkeiten von der Hisbollah selbst ausgeführt worden sein könnte. Anlässlich der Beerdigung von Mughniyah machte Nasrallah indes deutlich, dass er Israel die Verantwortung für den Anschlag zuwies. Er drohte, den Kampf gegen Israel von nun an, auch außer­halb von Israel und dem Libanon zu führen. Israelische Sicherheitskräfte verstärkten daraufhin die Schutzmaßnahmen für israelische Einrichtungen im Ausland. Great leap backwards “From an organization that has a state, a group that manages a war against another country, an organization that is attempting to change the political rules of the game in the country where it operates – Hizbullah shifted to being a hunted, embarrassed, and stunned terror group.[…] This assassination comes on top of the growing headache suffered by Hizbullah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah. For more than a year and a half this man has been in hiding, determined to go on and firmly manage the struggle against Israel, despite suffering from great limitations to his freedom of movement.[…] As testament to the relative isolation faced by Nasrallah’s camp, only minor organizations and various pariahs were quick to condemn the assassination immediately after it was reported.[…] A Lebanese source told Ynet:‘Past experience shows that Hizbullah will certainly respond. The question is not if, but rather, how, when, and in what way. Logic dictates that the response will not necessarily take place abroad, and that all options are open.’ So what’s in store? Starting today, Nasrallah will begin to provide the answers.” Roee Nahmias, JED 14.02.08 The hit/ Not merely revenge “Mughniyah's assassination- if it was carried out by Israel- strengthens the impression that Olmert is unafraid of making complex defence decisions that involve considerable risks.[…] In view of Mughniyah's status and the future risk he posed, it was absolutely justified to attack him.” Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff, HAA 14.02.08 Far more than the killing of one terrorist “The killing of Imad Mughniyeh- whoever is responsible- represents a significant achievement for Israel and its allies, and a tremendous blow to its most sworn enemies, in particular Hizbullah and Iran's radical Islamist regime.[…] His sudden loss will undoubtedly set back for some time the operational capabilities not only of Hizbullah and the various terror groups with which he was linked, but the Iranian and Syrian intelligence agencies as well. Still, some degree of perspective is called for here. Mughniyeh was not a charismatic political figure, but a shadowy underground leader and organizer, and such figures are always replaceable in the dark world in which he operated. Though his death was obviously a major setback for 1