Contrasting reactions to the chance killing by Israeli soldiers of Hamas’s top leader, Yahya Sinwar, offer a chastening guide to the dismal, dead-end politics of the Middle East. Sinwar, reputed mastermind of the 7 October 2023 massacre of about 1,200 Israelis, has paid a fitting price for his crimes. It would have been preferable had he faced trial. The same holds true of Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s political chief, assassinated by Israel in Tehran in July. Yet both these men lived by the sword. They knew the score.
The killing is being widely described as a watershed moment that could presage an end to the multi-fronted war that erupted after 7 October. It is likened in importance to the US assassination of Osama bin Laden, who plotted the 9/11 attacks – and was similarly celebrated in Israel and western capitals last week. Yet such sweeping assessments may be premature.
