Time Rayyans out

In his dispatch Senior Hamas leader killed, Griffe Witte of the Washington Post reported:

Already, the air campaign has made this the bloodiest conflict in Gaza since Israel seized the territory in 1967. Precision-guided missile strikes have taken a heavy toll on Hamas’s police force and its rocket-launching squads. More than 60 civilians have also been killed, according to United Nations estimates.

Hamas rocket fire has killed four Israelis since the offensive began, three of them civilians.

He also reported:

Israel on Thursday allowed 93 trucks into the strip to deliver supplies. Israel accused Hamas of hoarding critically needed goods in order to create the impression that conditions in Gaza are worse than they actually are. Israel has not allowed foreign journalists into Gaza since its operation began, and the accusation could not be independently verified.

And the UN claim was independently verified?

But let’s get back to the topic of the headline:

The Palestinian movement’s senior leaders had not been among the victims until Thursday, when an Israeli airstrike killed Nizar Rayyan, a cleric who served as a liaison between Hamas’s political and military wings. The strike also killed his four wives and nine of his 12 children, the Associated Press reported, citing Palestinian health officials. Rayyan, 49, had called for renewed suicide bombings inside Israel and had refused to go into hiding, as other prominent Hamas members had done.

Again how many of Rayyan’s relatives were killed apparently wasn’t independently verified. But as Elder of Ziyon notes, it’s pretty clear that “being a liaison” essentially means that there is no difference between the civilian and military arms of Hamas. Of course Elder of Ziyon independently confirmed that information and didn’t rely on the AP like Witte, the reporter, did.

Israel Matzav, Gateway Pundit, Mere Rhetoric, JoshuaPundit and Israelly Cool have more.

After Dr. Rantisi was killed, his successor was supposed to be a secret. I wonder if Israel figured out that Rayyan was that person. (I know that some sources named Haniyeh as the successor, but I have no way of knowing if that’s accurate.)

I found a news article in the NYT from 2000 quoting Rayyan (The headline refers to a “…snapshot of despair.” But what’s described here is hatred, not despair.).

MR. RAYYAN spent 12 years in an Israeli jail for his pursuit of that end. His brother-in-law was a suicide bomber who blew up an Israeli bus in 1998. His brother was shot dead by Israelis in street protests seven years ago. Another brother was expelled to Lebanon and several more were wounded in clashes.

Today, his three sons — ages 12, 15 and 16 — daily join the youths who throw rocks at Israeli checkpoints. All, he said, yearn to be one thing — martyrs for Palestine.

”I pray only that God will choose them,” he said.

And according to Khaled Abu Toameh, his prayers were answered (h/t Meryl):

At the beginning of the second intifada, Rayyan sent one of his sons to carry out a suicide attack in Gush Katif’s Elei Sinai in 2001. Two Israelis were killed. Rayyan was also responsible for a series of suicide bombings and attacks inside the Green Line, including the suicide bombing in Ashdod Port in 2004 in which 10 Israelis died.

I guess, then, that he answered his son’s prayers himself. Unfortunately two innocents also died.

Jeff Jacoby asks if Israel has learned its lesson, specifically:

ISRAEL’S 2006 war against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed terrorist army based in Lebanon, was a disaster – an ill-planned operation that did more damage to Israel’s military reputation than to Hezbollah’s resolve and influence. Now, as it fights Hamas in Gaza, Israel seems determined not to repeat the mistakes of two years ago.

One of the problems of the Hezbollah war in 2006 was that Israel allowed its enemies to define the terms of victory. I wonder what Israel could do change that dynamic. Two years ago Nasrallah declared victory over Israel from some undisclosed location. And Israel let him get away with that. What if Israeli officials started making comments like, “It’s such a great victory that Nasrallah won’t dare come out. What kind of man wins a war and remains in hiding?”

Now that Israel has killed one of the Hamas groundhogs, why don’t Israeli officials start goading other Hamas leaders by calling them cowards for hiding and questioning their manhood – even if they have four wives? Then Haniyeh, and Zahar and Abu Tir would either have to pop their heads above ground – and risk becoming targets – or stay hidden and confirm their cowardice.

UPDATE: I should have looked more carefully at the profile by Khaled Abu Toameh.

Many Palestinians saw the killing of Rayyan, 60, as a severe blow to Hamas and its armed wing, Izzadin Kassam. Some Hamas supporters said on Thursday that Rayyan was more significant than Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh or senior Hamas leaders Mahmoud Zahar and Said Siam.

“He was one of the most popular figures in Hamas,” said a Palestinian journalist who knew the slain Hamas leader for nearly two decades. “He was the type of leader who would go out with the fighters to confront Israeli tanks and fire rockets at Israel. He loved wearing the military uniform.”

Apart from serving as a “spiritual” leader for Hamas’s armed wing, Rayyan was also a teacher at the Islamic University in Gaza City. His students referred to him as “The Professor” and described him as a prominent Muslim scholar. One student said Rayyan was Yassin’s real successor.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.