page_title: Targeted killings by Israel Defense Forces
section_title: Proponents of targeted killings
hierarchical_section_title: Targeted killings by Israel Defense Forces / Controversies relating to the strategy of targeted killings / Proponents of targeted killings
caption_attribution_description: עברית: סיכול ממוקד באמצעות מסוק קרב מדגם אפאצ'י של חיל האוויר הישראלי המשגר טיל הלפייר לעבר חוליית משגרי רקטות ברצועת עזה. במהלך ההסלמה בדרום (נובמבר 2018). רבע שעה לאחר הצילום דווח על התקיפה. המחבל נהרג, בן 28 חבר בארגון גדודי נאסר סלאח א-דין שלקח אחריות על אירוע שכונה באמצעי התקשורת כ"פיגוע הדגל". כמה ימים לאחר מכן פורסם וידאו של מקומיים המראה את רגע הפגיעה בחוליה בעת שיגור הרקטות. English: Israeli Air Force Boeing AH-64 Apache Peten launch AGM-114 Hellfire missile , Gaza–Israel clashes (November 2018). here is the video capturing the moment of the same missile in the picture hit the terror cell of rocket launchers in action, from Gaza. Breaking News - IDF attacks terror cell east of Deir al-Balah
context_page_description: Targeted killings by the Israel Defense Forces also called targeted prevention or focused foiling, has occurred in the course of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict against persons accused of carrying out or planning attacks on Israeli targets in the West Bank or inside Israel. Nils Meltzer writes that 'The term 'targeted killing' denotes the use of lethal force attributable to a subject of international law with the intent, premeditation and deliberation to kill individually selected persons not in the physical custody of those targeting them".
  The Israeli army maintains that it pursues such military operations to prevent imminent attacks when it has no discernible means of making an arrest or foiling such attacks by other methods. On 14 December 2006, the Supreme Court of Israel ruled that targeted killing is a legitimate form of self-defense against terrorists, and outlined several conditions for its use.
  The practice of targeted killing developed in the post-World War II period, throughout which Israel has exercised the option more than any other Western democracy, according to Israeli investigative journalist Ronen Bergman.
context_section_description: Proponents of the strategy argue that targeted killings are within the rules of war. They contend they are a measured response to terrorism, that focuses on actual perpetrators of militant attacks, while largely avoiding innocent casualties. They point out that targeted killings prevented some attacks against Israeli targets, weakened the effectiveness of militant groups, kept potential bomb makers on the run, and served as deterrence against militant operations. They also argue that targeted killings are less harmful toward Palestinian non-combatants than full-scale military incursion into Palestinian cities.
  The IDF claims that targeted killings are only pursued to prevent future terrorist acts, not as revenge for past activities as such they are not extrajudicial. The IDF also claims that this practice is only used when there is absolutely no practical way of foiling the future acts by other means (e.g., arrest) with minimal risk to its soldiers or civilians. The IDF also claims that the practice is only used when there is a certainty in the identification of the target, in order to minimize harm to innocent bystanders. They argue that because many of the Palestinians who have targeted Israel over the years have enjoyed the protection of Arab governments, extraditing them for trial in Israel has often proved impossible. They argue that Israeli governments have long used targeted killings as a last resort, when there were no peaceful options for bringing suspected terrorists to account. In a 2010 article in Infinity Journal, it was argued that targeted killings are a strategy that entails "limited, force in support of policy" and that the strategy has proven to work, albeit within specific contexts. The context of the Infinity Journal article related specifically to Hamas' calls for ceasefires and "calms" in 2004 after the majority of their leadership had been successfully targeted by Israeli forces. According to the article, "Targeted Killings Work", Israeli targeted killings throughout "the 2000–2005 armed rebellion represented a successful strategy" because "the tactics never undermined Israeli policy enough to alter Israel's overall political objectives" and because Hamas' will to continue with armed violence was temporarily broken.
caption: The AH-64 Apache helicopter gunship launches an AGM-114 Hellfire missile at a terror cell of rocket launchers in action
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 7D Mark II", "Image XResolution": "240", "Image YResolution": "240", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 7.5 (Windows)", "Image DateTime": "2018:11:13 16:07:45", "Image Artist": "*_Zigi_*", "Image ExifOffset": "244", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "894", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4722", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/1250", "EXIF FNumber": "8", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "250", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "250", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2018:11:13 15:28:25", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2018:11:13 15:28:25", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "321491/31250", "EXIF ApertureValue": "6", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "400", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "24", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "24", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "79937569/32768", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "79937569/32768", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "3", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "028020001625", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[400, 400, 0/0, 0/0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF400mm f/5.6L USM", "EXIF LensSerialNumber": "0000000000"}