MOSCOW, June 9 (RIA Novosti) - A senior Russian lawmaker criticized Israel Friday for an air strike in the Gaza Strip that killed four people including a senior security official in the Hamas-led government.
"The liquidation of the head of the 'Hamas Police', Jamal Abu Samhadana, does not mean the liquidation of radicalism," Mikhail Margelov, chairman of the upper house of parliament's committee for international affairs, said in a statement.
Samhadana had been the leader of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), which is accused of numerous attacks on Israel, and was recently appointed by radical Islamist movement Hamas to the Palestinian Interior Ministry. The strike by the Israeli military, which took place late on Thursday evening, also killed three other suspected Palestinian militants.
Margelov said the formation of a 3,000 strong "Hamas Police" led by Samhadana had upped tensions in the region, and made the task of international peaceful regulation more complex. "But the targeted killing of a Palestinian government official in advance of a referendum in Palestine cannot be called a strategic decision," he said.
Israel has denied accusations of assassinating the PRC leader, saying it targeted a PRC militant training camp, not specific individuals.
Margelov said Hamas had won Palestinian parliamentary elections in January "under pressure from Israel."
If Israel's selective strikes continue, they will increase the danger of Palestinians voting against Israel's right to exist through a referendum, he said.
If this happens, "peaceful initiatives will be rejected by the Palestinian side, which will site the legitimate results of the referendum."
The current situation in the Middle East demands "strategy, not tactics," Margelov said.
