The Lakkis Assassination and Israel’s ‘Kill List’

Israel Has Been Building a List of Shi'ite Targets for Years

With the assassination of Hassan Lakkis being followed almost immediately by a claim of responsibility from a Lebanese Sunni faction, it might seem strange that so much attention is being paid to the prospect of Israel having assassinated him.

It’s not surprising, however, as Israel has made much of its “Radical Front” kill list, a list of members of various Shi’ite factions that they’d just as soon kill if they have the opportunity.

Israel has made much of its anticipation of a broad, region-wide war against all Shi’ite factions, including Iran, Hezbollah and Syria. That’s not a recent thing, and it’s been something Israel’s been expecting for a solid decade, and building a list of targets for.

Lakkis was clearly on this list, with Israeli intelligence seeing him as a major driver in technological improvements by the Hezbollah militia. That and Israel’s penchant for convoluted assassination schemes means they will remain suspects in the killing for quite some time, even if it turns out the killing was related to the Syrian Civil War and not directly carried out by Israeli assassins.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.