Former Mossad chief: The decision to eliminate senior Hamas officials abroad is a political decision

The former head of the Israeli Mossad, Yossi Cohen, said that the decision to eliminate senior Hamas officials abroad is a political decision.

He added during an interview with Channel 11 in response to a question about why senior Hamas officials abroad, such as Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Meshaal, were not eliminated, saying, “Every operation is subject to three main factors outside Israel. The first factor is the goal of the operation, whether it has material value or not.” “Materially, the second factor relates to the operational unit charged with carrying out the mission and ensuring its safe return, while the third factor relates to the response that will be taken to the operation after its implementation.”

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Cohen stated that politics is what determines the fate of such operations and that the ability to implement them exists according to international standards.

Cohen believed that eliminating senior Hamas officials abroad depends on a political decision determined by politicians, which goes beyond the practical and military aspects and is related to Israeli international and political relations.

I24 News reported that, after Cohen's statements, it appears that the political and security situation in the region is witnessing new developments of interest.

She also indicated that, in light of these statements, there appears to be a possible shift in the Israeli political scene.

She explained that Cohen did not definitively confirm his desire to enter the political arena, but these statements raise questions about the extent of their impact on the political and security scene in Israel in the future.

The channel also stated in a report published on its official website that it has become clear that there are increasing calls within Israel to firmly confront security threats, especially in light of the escalation of tensions in the region and their impact on regional stability.

Paris grants honorary citizenship to those detained by Hamas and denies it to Palestinian victims

Paris: France granted the approximately 135 Israelis detained by Hamas in the Gaza Strip honorary citizenship in Paris on Thursday, the day after a national celebration honoring the victims of the October 7 attack launched by Hamas.

The socialist mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, announced that this “symbolic protection” from the “City of Human Rights” was granted to the hostages collectively by near unanimity of local officials, with one member abstaining from approval.

The mayor also stated that the city of Paris will “soon” honor Palestinian civilians who “die under continuous bombardment,” stressing that taking their lives “violates international law and the law of war.”

In addition, the municipal council provided a financial grant worth one hundred thousand euros to the non-governmental organization “ACTED” in the form of emergency assistance to the residents of Gaza.

Requests by communists and environmentalists to grant Palestinian civilians honorary citizenship were rejected.

Requests by communists and environmentalists to grant Palestinian civilians honorary citizenship were rejected

Honorary citizenship of the city of Paris is granted as a gesture of support to political dissidents, human rights activists and journalists in authoritarian regimes. Since its launch in 2001, it has been granted to the satirical weekly magazine “Charlie Hebdo” in 2015, to the city of Kiev in 2022, and to the residents of the Nagorno-Karabakh region at the end of 2023.

Hidalgo reported that while a week-long truce negotiated at the end of November between Israel and Hamas allowed for the release of 110 hostages, “there are still 135 detainees in the Gaza Strip.”

She stressed that “no one can question Israel’s right to exist,” expressing again her “hope to negotiate a political solution based on two states.”

The mayor of Paris announced, in the presence of five family members of the detainees and the Israeli ambassador, that four months after the Hamas attack, “every additional day in detention unfortunately reduces the chances of the hostages remaining alive.”

Since the end of January, pictures of French nationals still detained by Hamas, including the infant Kfir Bibas, have been hung at two entrances to the French capital’s municipal building.