Gantz to terror group leaders: You should ‘be worried’

Israel’s defense minister warns terror chiefs that they aren’t safe, no matter where they are.

By World Israel News Staff

Defense Minister Benny Gantz warned, in an interview with Kan News, that “the heads of the terrorist organizations should be worried” about Israel using its military prowess to assassinate them. The interview was published two days after a ceasefire ended a brief round of conflict between Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Israel.

Gantz’s remarks were made a day after an IDF raid succeeded in eliminating a wanted terrorist in Nablus (Shechem) and PIJ officials threatened to resume launching rockets at Israel should Israel refuse to release prisoners affiliated with the terror group.

During the three-day conflict, dubbed Operation Breaking Dawn, the Israeli military destroyed the entirety of PIJ’s senior leadership. At the time of the offensive, PIJ’s head, Ziad Nakhaleh, was meeting with members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps in Tehran.

Nakhaleh has publicly stated that PIJ will not hesitate to relaunch attacks on Israel should the Jewish State fail to release two high-profile prisoners associated with the terror group.

Israel has staunchly denied that the ceasefire was conditional upon the release of the two prisoners, and Gantz appeared to fire back at that assertion by telling Kan News that Jerusalem will not take orders from terror groups.

“Ziad Nakhaleh heads the group [PIJ], but he doesn’t have a guarantee [that he won’t be assasinated] anywhere he goes,” Gantz said.

A number of Iranian military officials and scientists working on Tehran’s nuclear program have been assassinated in Iran in recent months. Gantz’s comments may have implied that Nakhaleh could be killed even there.

Since the ceasefire between PIJ and Israel came into effect late Sunday evening, officials from both sides have traded numerous barbs suggesting that the conflict could easily kick off once again.