#Iran-backed Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group on Sunday morning claimed one of its senior members, Ali Ramzi al-Aswad, was assassinated by #Israel in #Syria. Comes as Ghaani has been visiting Syria and Nasrallah met with Nakhalah yesterday..
The Gaza Strip-based Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group on Sunday morning claimed one of its senior members, an engineer, was assassinated by Israel in Syria.
In a statement, the military wing of the PIJ, the al-Quds Brigades, said Ali Ramzi al-Aswad, 31, was shot dead by “agents of the Zionist enemy” in the Damascus area. The terror group said al-Aswad was a “leader” and an engineer.
The terror group said al-Aswad’s family originated from the northern city of Haifa and settled in a refugee camp in Syria following Israel’s 1948 War of Independence. The PIJ said he joined the group and worked as an engineer, eventually becoming a senior commander.
In an apparent reference to the assassination, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a weekly cabinet meeting said Israel would “get to the terrorists and the architects of terror everywhere.”
“Our forces are working around the clock to deal with the terrorists and thwart terror infrastructure. Dozens of terrorists were killed in the last month; many others were arrested. I repeat: All those who try to harm the citizens of Israel, they will pay with their lives,” Netanyahu said.
On Saturday night, a rocket was launched from the Gaza Strip at a southern Israeli town, causing no damage or injuries. The attack came after four Palestinians, at least two of whom were members of terror groups, were shot dead Thursday by undercover Israeli forces during a daytime raid in the West Bank city of Jenin.
Yusuf Shreim, 29, a member of the military wing of the Hamas terror group, and Nidal Khazem, 28, a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, were targeted in the operation.
Over the past year, Gaza-based groups â notably Islamic Jihad â have repeatedly launched rockets at Israel in response to members being killed or arrested in the West Bank.
The military did not respond to the Saturday rocket attack with airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. As a matter of policy, Israel responds with airstrikes against Hamas assets in Gaza over rocket attacks.
The lack of airstrikes in response to the rocket attack, as well as no overnight arrest raids by the army in the West Bank, was thought to be tied to a Sunday meeting in Egypt aimed to help foster regional calm ahead of the sensitive Ramadan period, which begins at the end of this week.
Israeli, Palestinian, American, Egyptian, and Jordanian officials are set to convene in Sharm el-Sheikh for the second time, after a similar meeting last month.
