In Gaza, last week marked the 18th anniversary of the assassination of Hamas founder and leader Sheikh Ahmad Yassin.
Its assassination on March 22, 2004, about three and a half years after the outbreak of the second intifada, came too late for the 430 Israeli civilians killed and another 2,260 wounded, some seriously, in the 780 terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas in those years, inspired by Yassin's direct instructions.
Yassin was arrested, tried and imprisoned twice in the Israeli prison, and twice released without serving his full sentence.
The first time - as part of the Jibril deal in 1985, in which Israel released 1,150 Palestinian terrorists, and the second time - in 1997, following the failure of the operation of the Mossad to assassinate Khaled Mash'al in Jordan.
Less than a month after the assassination of Yassin - who was part of a comprehensive campaign that Israel launched against Hamas and its leaders - his successor, 'Abd al-'Aziz Rantisi, was also assassinated.
The assassination of the two provoked worldwide condemnation, and only in the US opposition did the Security Council refrain from making a decision condemning Israel for the assassination.
This claim is based on the assassination of Hezbollah leader Abbas Mousavi in February 1992. In retaliation, Hezbollah and Iran carried out terrorist attacks against the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires and the Jewish community building in the city, killing 114 people.
Beyond that, Musawi was replaced, as is well known, by Hassan Nasrallah.
But the truth must be told.
Mousavi was not a great righteous man, nor a less dangerous enemy than Nasrallah.
And more importantly - unlike Hamas, where Israel continued to strike relentlessly, in the case of Hezbollah, Israel played into the hands of the organization, recoiled, stopped trying to harm its leaders, and moved to a defensive position that brought the Second Lebanon War upon it.
Israeli policy was adopted by the United States, as evidenced by the assassination of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda's leader, in May 2011, which dealt a severe blow to the organization from which he did not recover, and the assassination of ISIS founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October 2019 and his successor, Abu Ibrahim , February 2022.
The elimination of a terrorist leader is not the appearance of everything, and it alone is not an exclusive answer.
But it is an important pillar in the fight against it and an effective and proven way to weaken it, and prevent - even if temporarily - new terrorist acts.
The fight against terrorism is an ongoing struggle, and it is won by those who persevere and those who do not shy away from hitting the enemy.
It does not make sense to eliminate a lone terrorist or terrorist cell on its way to carry out an attack, if you stop when you reach the planners of the attack, or to the person who ordered its execution.
Terrorist leaders use suicide bombers, but know how to take good care of themselves and their associates.
Therefore, targeted assassinations are a necessity, a move that harms terrorism and weakens it, and most importantly - saves blood.
One should not shy away from it, but it should be understood that it is not a magic solution, since it is an ongoing struggle in which the enemy is defeated with steadfastness, determination and perseverance.
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