“We are believers, and we hope to conclude our lives with martyrdom, which we hold in high esteem, and that is the great victory in our eyes.", this is what Deputy Chief of Hamas' Political Bureau Sheikh Saleh al-Arouri said in an exclusive interview with Al Mayadeen on August 25, 2023.
Al-Arouri delivered his speech in response to the growing references to his name by Israeli officials and in the occupation media. Over the past few months, the Israeli media initiated an incitement campaign, specifically targeting al-Arouri, alleging his responsibility for fomenting and fueling resistance in the West Bank. He has since then been described as a "strategic figure" in these narratives.
During the series of Israeli threats directly aimed at the martyr, the head of the occupation government, Benjamin Netanyahu, openly pledged to assassinate al-Arouri. In response, al-Arouri, in his address to Al Mayadeen, asserted that such threats "will not alter his course in the slightest."
Following Netanyahu's statements and his threat to assassinate al-Arouri, a picture of the martyr circulated. In the image, al-Arouri is seen smiling, dressed in a military uniform, with his rifle placed in front of him.
Following the statement, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah expressed support for the Deputy Head of the Political Bureau of the Hamas movement. The report also mentioned Sayyed Nasrallah's commitment that "any assassination on Lebanese soil will affect a Lebanese or a Palestinian, or Iranian, or anyone else; we cannot remain silent about it."
The Israeli newspaper considered Sheikh al-Arouri as the "mastermind of the operations in the West Bank," referencing a speech by Sayyed Nasrallah in which he emphasized that the Palestinian people and their resistance are the primary forces behind operations against the occupation in the West Bank.
The newspaper characterized Sheikh al-Arouri as the individual who "pulls the strings in the West Bank," highlighting his warning that "assassinations could lead to a regional war."
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The Yedioth Ahronoth report stated that Eitan Dangote, who served as the military secretary for three Israeli security ministers, has been advocating for the assassination of Sheikh al-Arouri for several years. Dangote characterized Sheikh al-Arouri as "the most dangerous and most important person in Hamas today," describing him as a "deadly figure" who aims to "harm as many Israelis as possible."
As per the newspaper's report, "Sheikh al-Arouri's influential position as one of the agenda-setters in the West Bank has brought him near an axis that views the West Bank and al-Quds as central instruments in the struggle against Israel."
The Israeli Kan channel highlighted key points from Sheikh al-Arouri's interview with Al Mayadeen. According to Israeli journalist Elior Levy, he is considered a strategist and can be described as the brilliant mind of Hamas across various domains, particularly concerning the development of the movement's military apparatus outside the Gaza Strip.
Levy added that Sheikh al-Arouri "has become one of the central figures influencing the Israeli security establishment and various intelligence agencies worldwide."
The Israeli journalist later characterized Sheikh Al-Arouri as "Hamas' maestro in everything related to the movement's military strategy in the West Bank," highlighting his role as one of those responsible for establishing the Hamas branch in Lebanon.
Read next: Palestinian Resistance factions mourn martyred leader Saleh al-Arouri
After the Israeli media described Sheikh Al-Arouri as “the architect of the unity of the arenas,” media outlets in the occupation entity said that “in Israel, there is an understanding that the assassination of al-Arouri could lead to war in several arenas.”
On Tuesday night, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, mourned one of its most devout leaders, who endured 15+ years of imprisonment and was eventually forced out of Palestine and headed to Syria in 2010. Al-Arouri stayed in the neighboring Arab country, before moving to Turkey, Qatar, and Malaysia, eventually settling in the Southern Suburb of Beirut in Lebanon, where he resumed his revolutionary work.
The Israeli regime assassinated the Deputy Chief of Hamas' Political Bureau Sheikh Saleh al-Arouri, in Beirut Southern Suburb, Lebanon.
The chilling news of the great leader's martyrdom came after a series of Israeli threats, which reached their peak in August 2023. Israeli officials resented al-Arouri's direct years-long role in building up the capabilities of the Palestinian Resistance in the West Bank, which highlighted the fragility of Israeli security.