The chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, MK Dan Meridor, has expressed sharp opposition to Israel's current policy of liquidating leading Palestinian activists in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
During a meeting of the committee on Tuesday, following the assassination of Fateh leader Thabet Thabet in Tulkarm, Meridor said that a democratic state cannot adopt a policy of "liquidation" as a form of deterrence and punishment.
Meridor said the law "does not allow people to be harmed without trial, unless it is necessary to prevent a terrorist attack which they are in the process of carrying out or preparing."
Israel's security services claim that all of those assassinated have been involved in attacks on Israel, according to the paper.
Members of Meretz party, Naomi Chazan and Zahava Gal-On, also criticized the liquidations at this meeting, which was attended by Prime Minister Ehud Barak, added Haaretz.
They said that assassinations outside the country's borders constitute a serious violation of international treaties to which Israel is a signatory.
The paper said that Justice Minister Yossi Beilin has also expressed his reservations about the policy of assassinations.
At Sunday's cabinet meeting, Beilin demanded that Barak order the security services to stop killing Palestinian activists, Haaretz noted.
But Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein, who has expressed serious doubts regarding the propriety of negotiations with the Palestinians, refused to express his opinion on the liquidation policy on Wednesday.
According to Haaretz, Barak has not denied Israel's responsibility for the killings.
He told the committee that "Israel is in a warlike situation with the Palestinians, and must therefore fight terror with all available means."
Many Fateh, Hamas and Islamic Jihad leader have been assassinated by Israeli forces since the outbreak of the Intifada.
Israel justified the killings by saying that they were involved in carrying out attacks against the Jewish state, or were masterminding the attacks -- Albawaba.com
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