Haniyeh’s assassination makes it clear Israel not interested in ceasefire: Journalist

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

The assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran makes it clear that Israel is not interested in a ceasefire with the Palestinian resistance group, says a veteran journalist.

Sam Husseini, an independent journalist based in the United States, in a conversation with the Press TV website, said it has been clear for some time that Israel is not interested in a truce.

Haniyeh, who was in the Iranian capital to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Iran’s newly-elected president Masoud Pezeshkian, was assassinated in an attack engineered by the Israeli regime early on Wednesday.

Senior Iranian political leaders have vowed to avenge the blood of the visiting Hamas official.

Haniyeh’s assassination has dealt another blow to ongoing negotiations between the Gaza-based resistance group and the Israeli regime to halt the latter’s genocidal war on Gaza.

“The recent alleged "ceasefire" process was initiated by (US President) Joe Biden on May 31 when he claimed to unveil an Israeli proposal and demanded that Hamas accept. But Israel immediately distanced itself from the proposal,” Husseini told the Press TV website.

“The reason for this Biden statement was almost certainly because the US government sought to undermine the International Court of Justice (ICJ) orders of May 24.”

These orders emanated from South Africa’s case against Israel at the Hague-based top UN court invoking the Genocide Convention. The court had ordered the Tel Aviv regime to end its assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which began on May 7.

Husseini said the US government succeeded in getting the UN Security Council “to push aside an Algerian resolution to implement that ICJ order” and “succeeded in getting the UNSC to pass a resolution which falsely claimed that Israel had accepted the ceasefire.”

“Even Algeria voted for this baloney resolution, which made no mention of the ICJ orders. Increased lawlessness by Israel was almost certain, so the "international community" -- especially all the nations on the UNSC bear responsibility,” he asserted.

“Additionally, other nations are responsible for the continued disasters because they have not forcefully used the (UN) General Assembly's "Uniting for Peace" mechanism to confront the US veto. The ICJ in another ruling recently further urged the UNSC and GA to enforce its ruling that Israel's occupation is illegal.”

Husseini said some may be surprised that Israel would target the person it is supposedly negotiating with, but the fact is that “actual targets” for the regime are “law and diplomacy.”

The ceasefire talks between the Israeli regime and Hamas, brokered by some Persian Gulf states, have been disrupted by the continued Israeli war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza as well as the lack of political will in Tel Aviv to end the genocide that has already claimed almost 40,000 Palestinian lives, most of them children and women.

On Netanyahu’s recent visit to Washington, which was followed by the assassination of Haniyeh in Tehran as well as a top-ranking Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr in Beirut, Husseini said Americans must have given the green light for such operations.

“Additionally, Netanyahu met with (Donald) Trump as well as the Biden administration. It's possible that this means that Netanyahu is playing them off against each other, ensuring each backs him even more than they ordinarily would,” he told the Press TV website.

“This dynamic is further degenerating US politics because so many people are naively backing (Kamala) Harris as if she offers a meaningful break from the Biden administration's genocidal policies. I have put forward the VotePact.org strategy whereby a would-be Harris voter and a would-be Trump voter come together in pairs and both vote for the non-genocidal candidates of their choice. Unless the US public gets out of the dominance of the establishment genocidal parties, further disasters are extremely likely.”

The US-based journalist, whose writings are published on husseini.org, also noted the recent "increase in rhetoric" against Iran from the US establishment, including from Antony Blinken, Harris and James David Vance, Trump’s running mate in the December election.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk