Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman has dismissed accusations that Israel gunned down Palestinian electrical engineer Fadi al-Batsh in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. However, in an April 22 interview on Israel’s Kan public radio, Liberman left no room for doubt that Israel had all the reasons in the world to want to assassinate him. “The man was not a saint,” Liberman said. “He wasn’t involved with improving the electricity grid or infrastructure and water. We have heard the announcements by the heads of Hamas taking responsibility for the man, explaining that he was involved with the production of rockets, with improving the rockets’ accuracy.”

Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, who also holds the government’s intelligence affairs portfolio, provided an even stronger hint. “Based on the cries of despair from the heads of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, it turns out he wasn't such a great saint and the citizens of Israel have no reason to shed a tear over him being gone," he told Ynet news website. Nonetheless, he added, Hamas has other enemies, and “many elements in this region, not just Israel, have an interest in hurting its capabilities."

Katz also referred to the implied threat by Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, who accused Israel of the Malaysian operation and warned that his organization could settle the score by terror attacks against Israeli targets abroad. "There will be an unsettled account between us and [the Mossad]," Haniyeh said. To which Katz responded with a barely veiled threat of his own: "Gaza is much closer than Malaysia."

Batsh was born in Jabaliya refugee camp. He studied electrical engineering at the Islamic University and left the Gaza Strip for Malaysia in 2011 to complete his doctoral studies. Several years later, he became a senior lecturer at the University of Kuala Lumpur. His move to Malaysia probably saved his life in the past. During Operation Protective Edge in 2014, 18 of his family members were killed in an Israeli attack. Then, on April 21, two assassins on motorbikes fired 20 rounds at point-blank range, killing Batsh.