Assassinating Fatah leader is classic Israeli tactic of waging war on all

An Israeli drone struck a vehicle near the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, marking the first attack on a senior Fatah member since October 7.

The target was Khalil al Maqdah – a commander in Fatah’s armed wing, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades — based in Ain al Hilweh, Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp that is home to over 60,000 people.

Maqdah was the brother of Munir al Maqdah, the chief commander of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Lebanon, who confirmed his sibling’s death on Wednesday.

Israeli authorities accused the Maqdah brothers of smuggling weapons into the occupied West Bank through Jordan to justify the killing. However, Khalil al Maqdah's death reflects a broader pattern of targeted assassinations by Israel of Palestinian officials from various factions.

Experts believe that this attack, among other things, gives a clear message: Israel feels justified in targeting any Palestinian leader anywhere in the world without the need for differentiation between their affiliations.

Israel’s divide and murder policy

Fatah, one of the two main Palestinian factions, has been primarily recognised for its political presence, especially under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas, rather than its military activities.

However, its military wing is considered a key faction that Tel Aviv aims to keep separate from Hezbollah, given the heightened clashes between Israel and the Lebanese group since October 7, says Palestinian political analyst Nour Odeh.

By targeting senior figures in these Palestinian factions, Israel aims to minimise potential escalation on the Lebanese front and avoid dealing with multiple actors in Lebanon, she tells TRT World.

Israel is also acutely aware of the disagreements within Fatah, particularly between its armed wing and political leadership, and it leverages these rifts to its advantage, according to Ahmet Yusuf Ozdemir, a lecturer in political science and international relations at Ibn Haldun University.

"By killing Khalil al Maqdah, I believe Israel's policy is to stir internal debate within Fatah and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, further marginalising the armed wing and highlighting their disconnection from Fatah,” Ozdemir tells TRT World.

He also notes another situation unfolding in the occupıed West Bank, which is the increasing popularity of Hamas. “Israelis are concerned that this could escalate into another Intifada.

As the main aim of the Israeli state is to maintain its occupation of Palestinian lands, fueling the rivalry between Hamas and Fatah and keeping their supporters divided between Gaza and the occupied West Bank is of utmost importance.

Unification talks between the two rival Palestinian groups have been ongoing since April, with the most recent meeting in China in July resulting in an agreement for national unification.

This development may have prompted Israel to intensify its efforts to divide the factions, resulting in the attack on Maqdah.

On the other hand, experts agree that attacks on various Palestinian groups and factions could simply be part of its broader strategy to target any Palestinian entity, reflecting its all-out war on the Palestinian presence.

“Israel does not differentiate between members of Fatah, Hamas, or other Palestinian factions. In the eyes of the Israeli establishment, all Palestinians are viewed as potential threats to their policies and efforts to dominate and control all of Palestine,” says Daud Abdullah, director of Middle East Monitor.

“As long as they have the opportunity to exact revenge or target and assassinate someone, they will do it regardless of who the individual is or where they are. In the case of Maqdah earlier this week, they seized that opportunity,” he tells TRT World.

Ozdemir points to the killing of Saleh al Arouri, the deputy political head of Hamas, in Beirut in January and Ismail Haniyeh, the former head of Hamas’ political bureau, in Tehran in July. He views these actions as part of a continued strategy.

“If you are against it, Israel will find you and kill you wherever you are located.”

War on many fronts in multiple ways

Israel’s struggle with Fatah is neither new nor confined to military factions in Lebanon. Instead, it has been targeting Fatah through various methods and in different contexts, Odeh notes, for example, “by doing everything in its power to push Palestinians in the West Bank to a breaking point.”

"Politically, Israel is working to undermine the Palestinian Authority (PA) by stripping it of power, land, and responsibilities in the West Bank. This makes Fatah appear completely helpless and unable to fulfil its duties to its people.”

Even though Hamas currently leads the military confrontation on the Palestinian side, and Fatah seems committed to a political dialogue, this does not change the fact that any Palestinian who defends their neighbourhood or refugee camp becomes a target for Israel, adds occupied West Bank-based analyst Odeh.

She experiences daily how Palestinians in the West Bank are pressured by the Israeli occupation through various methods, and similarly, Fatah is being targeted in multiple, deliberate ways.

“People in the West Bank are under immense pressure,” she says, and cites the economy being on the brink of collapse, severe restrictions on movement between Palestinian cities, attacks by illegal Jewish settlers with army support, and Israeli authorities crippling the Palestinian government by seizing funds, such as tax revenues, which has led to an inability to pay salaries and made Fatah appear ineffective to its citizens.

“This assault is not just through direct violence but also through systematic debilitation.”

The killing of Maqdah is not expected to spark new fronts in the existing escalations between Israel and Palestinian groups. It is likely, for experts, that Israel will continue targeting all interlocutors while simultaneously maintaining a façade of willingness for dialogue.

“They try to give a false impression to the international community by pretending to approach actors differently, suggesting an interest in dialogue while continuing their attacks on all factions,” Odeh says.

For Daud Abdallah, the key takeaway from this recent incident is that Israel's ability to target selectively is once again evident, highlighting the contrast with its indiscriminate war on Gaza's two million residents.

“Israel claims that its actions in Gaza are precise and not indiscriminate. In Lebanon, it has similarly targeted and assassinated top leaders from Hamas and Hezbollah with precision.”