Sources close to the leadership of Hizbullah told the Kuwaiti Al-Rai newspaper that earlier this month the Lebanese organization put on hold "in the last minute" a special operation to assassinate "a senior Israeli official" because of the dramatic events following the May 31's Israeli attack on the Turkish ship aid bound to the Gaza Strip. "The process of targeting a senior Israeli official was on the verge of implementation in one resort," the source was quoted as saying on Tuesday. However, Hizbullah leadership issued a sudden decision to abort the mission amid the international pressure on Israel following the flotilla attack
"The decision to halt the operation was taken as a result of the dramatic developments in the aftermath of the Israeli attack on Fleet of Freedom bound to Gaza," the source said, adding that the killing of a senior Israeli official would help Israel to divert the world's attention from the "massacre committed against the passengers of the Turkish Marmara ship.
The source added: "The Israeli official earned his life back again, especially after he was called back to Tel Aviv to follow up on some urgent issues that have taken place immediately after the ship raid."
