The BBC reports on Hamas’ execution of Hassan Musallamit, who was accused of providing Israel with information leading to the targeted killing of Sheik Ahmed Yassin. The following snippet decries “extra-judicial killings,” but it isn’t clear whether the criticism at the end is aimed at Israel’s policy of targeted assassinations, the Palestinian witch hunt for collaborators, or both:
Hamas men often die in very accurate missile strikes, frequently launched from unmanned spy planes.
There is much speculation in Gaza as to how the Israelis are able to target these high-ranking figures with such apparent ease.
It is often thought that they are assisted by informers.
In the nearly 40 years that they have occupied Gaza, the Israelis are widely believed to have built up an extensive network of collaborators.
Hamas says it knows the identity of several more suspected informers and it has warned that they will be hunted down.
Israel justifies its targeting of militant leaders by saying that they prevent attacks on Israeli civilian and military targets.
However, human rights groups describe the killings as extra-judicial killings.
Is the BBC comparing targeted killing of terrorists with the murder of alleged informers?
