Opposition Lawmaker Hints Israel behind Quntar Murder, Warns Nasrallah

An Israeli opposition lawmaker hinted on Saturday that the Jewish State was behind the assassination of senior Hizbullah operative Samir Quntar, the Jerusalem Post reported.

During a town hall meeting in Beersheba, Zionist Union lawmaker Omer Bar-Lev was asked about Hizbullah and its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in the wake of recent threats to attack chemical facilities in Haifa, said the daily.

"I would not recommend to Nasrallah that he leave his bunker," the lawmaker said. "Why? Because he's an enemy, and he's a target. He needs to be a target, so on a personal level I would advise him to look after himself."

When the moderator of the discussion asked if Nasrallah would be targeted just like Quntar, Bar-Lev tried to avoid giving a direct answer, said the newspaper.

"I certainly do not want to make operational statements of the kind," it quoted Bar-Lev as saying.

Moments later, Bar-Lev was asked if the Quntar killing could be considered "a tremendous success for Israel."

"Yes, certainly," the lawmaker replied.

Hizbullah said Quntar was killed along with eight others in December in an airstrike in Jaramana, a suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus.

Israel welcomed news of Quntar's death without claiming responsibility for the air strike that killed him.