Speaking on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Report” on Friday, former Secretary of Defense and former CIA Director Leon Panetta said in response to President Joe Biden’s scolding of Israel for its apparent assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh that “one of the things we encourage Israel to do is to target Hamas leaders who are involved in attacks on Israel,” and that Israel should do so. Panetta acknowledged that the killing could have an impact on ceasefire negotiations, but argued, “That’s the nature of war, and ultimately, there is a price to pay to hold accountable those responsible for killing Israelis.”
“The president was asked last night at Andrews how this would affect ceasefire negotiations, and he replied sternly that it wouldn’t help, because the US believes it is on the brink of something very big. The risk and reward here is…” host Andrea Mitchell said.
Panetta interjected, “I’m convinced. At the same time, Mossad is targeting these people. Frankly, one of the things we’ve been encouraging Israel to do is to target Hamas leaders who are involved in attacks on Israel. They’re good at targeting. This bomb was planted in a guest house two months ago, and it was detonated knowing that Hamas leaders were there. Clearly, it’s up to Israel to go after the leaders who were involved in the attack. At the same time, obviously, it could well have an impact on ceasefire negotiations. But that’s the nature of war. And ultimately, there’s a price to pay for going after those responsible for killing Israelis.”
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