Likud MK: High Court regained its senses

Knesset Member Yuval Steinitz (Likud) welcomed the ruling: "The High Court returned to its senses and to the understanding that the obligation of the State to defend its citizens overpowers all other obligations.

"However, it is about time that the Knesset constrains the High Court's involvement in issues of war and peace, emigration and terror."

MK Zahava Gal-On (Meretz) said, "It is a shame that the High Court didn't completely forbid using targeted assassinations.

"Experience shows that it is not logical to thoroughly examine each individual incident because the IDF hasn't only assassinated ticking time bombs for some time now and has turned the policy of targeted killings into a policy of terror against terror."

Arieh Eldad (NU-NRP) conveyed an angry farewell message to the Supreme Court's retiring president: "Surprisingly, (judge) Aharon Barak did not make a significant contribution to terror organizations today. Nonetheless a great sigh of relief should be heard in the country today, since he is finally gone."

'A crime against humanity'

Hadash Chairman MK Mohammad Barakeh said, "I am not surprised because this decision joins a series of decisions in the past week attempting to falsely legitimize the Israeli occupation and its crimes.

"The murder and assassination operation carried out by the occupation forces are a wound. No alibi can helo in covering the truth, as it is a crime against humanity. The army's operations kill dozens of people."

MK Benny Elon (NU-NRP) said that "The High Court continues its targeted killing of the democratic system. According to the ruling, only the court will rule what is a fit war operation and what is a fit targeted killing. It is impossible to fight this way."

MK Ahmad Tibi said that "the decision is continuing in the High Court's militant direction, which has since '67 allowed expropriations, expulsions, uprooting, assassinations, and all the other injustices of occupation, against international law."

Three High Court Judges, headed by retiring Supreme Court President Aharon Barak, rejected on Thursday morning the petition to prohibit the IDF's targeted killing policy.

The ruling established that restrictions and limitations must be put on the policy, such that each instance will be thoroughly examined.

In its justification of the ruling, the court wrote that "it cannot be determined in advance that every targeted killing is prohibited according to customary international law, just as it cannot be determined in advance that every targeted killing is permissible according to customary international law."