Israeli Chief of Staff admits assassinations of wanted militant leaders risk fanning flames of violence.
JERUSALEM - Israeli Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon vowed Monday the army would continue assassinating the leaders of radical Palestinian movements.
"Pre-emptive strikes will continue because they undeniably weaken terrorist organisations," Yaalon told public radio in an interview marking Remembrance Day, which is observed each year to commemorate the country's fallen soldiers.
He nevertheless admitted that Israel's assassinations of wanted militant leaders "do not immediately dent the motivation" of radical organisations and risk fanning the flames of violence through retaliatory attacks.
He was speaking as Israel still awaited bloody reprisals for the two most spectacular strikes since the start of "targeted killings" three years ago.
Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was killed in a March 22 air strike on Gaza City and his successor Abdelaziz Rantissi was slain in a similar hit on April 17.
Since the start of the intifada in September 2000, more than 130 Palestinian militants have been killed in Israeli army "targeted killings" which also left at least another hundred Palestinians dead.
Yaalon, who had previously voiced his opposition to a unilateral Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, this time refrained from commenting on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's "disengagement" plan.
He nevertheless stressed that Palestinian militant groups would not miss an opportunity to portray an Israeli troop withdrawal as a military victory.
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