Besides his Hamas affiliation, Al-Batsh was a cousin of Khaled Al-Batsh, a senior official in the Islamic Jihad militant group, who accused the Israeli Mossad spy agency of the assassination, without providing evidence. But Israel has had a long history of suspected targeting of wanted Palestinian militants in daring operations around the globe. The Mossad is believed to have assassinated Palestinian militants and scientists in the past, but has never confirmed such operations. Protests are aiming to culminate in a large border march on May 15, the 70th anniversary of Israel founding. The date is mourned by Palestinians as their “nakba,”or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands were uprooted in the 1948 Mideast war over Israel’s creation.

Source: thestar April 21, 2018 13:41 UTC