After 9/11, hunting ‘enemies of humanity’ across borders went global

When Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated with a remotely operated bomb in Iran in July, an already precarious situation in the Middle East was set on a knife’s edge. Israel, which was widely blamed for the attack, has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility. 

While the implications of Haniyeh’s assassination for the war in Gaza and Iran’s possible response are unclear, its larger significance is already in focus: a growing trend of states targeting internal security threats outside their own territory.