• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

A Pledge By Islamic Jihad Group to Halt Rocket Fire If Israel Stops Raids

Posted on: Monday, 31 October 2005, 12:00 CST

By Greg Myre

The Palestinian faction Islamic Jihad said Sunday that it would stop firing rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel, which could help end a week of violence. Islamic Jihad made its pledge conditional on a halt in Israeli air raids and other military operations against Palestinian factions.

Israel said last week that it would wage a sustained campaign against Islamic Jihad, particularly in the West Bank, in response to a suicide bombing that killed five Israelis on Wednesday. After the Islamic Jihad announcement on Sunday, an Israeli official said that Israel continued to face threats from the group, which it calls a terrorist organization

. "We are not partner to any agreement between various terror groups and the Palestinian Authority," said Raanan Gissin, a spokesman for the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon. "We deal only with the Palestinian Authority." Gissin repeated Israel's call for the Palestinian leadership to crack down on Islamic Jihad and other armed factions. Khaled al-Batsh, a senior Islamic Jihad leader in Gaza, said the faction had been talking with the Palestinian Authority and had agreed to cease rocket attacks if Israel stopped military forays. "We are calling for a mutual calm between us and the Zionist enemy," Batsh said, referring to Israel. Since the Israeli and the Palestinian leaders announced a truce in February, it has been violated with regularity. The past week has included some of the worst bloodshed in recent months. Israeli ground troops killed an Islamic Jihad leader during a West Bank raid on Oct. 23. Three days later, Islamic Jihad carried out the suicide bombing that killed five Israelis at an outdoor market in the coastal town of Hadera. In Gaza, Islamic Jihad fired rockets into southern Israel, while Israel carried out air strikes that killed nine Palestinians, with both militants and civilians among the dead, according to Palestinians. Israeli troops killed at least two Islamic Jihad militants in a shootout in the West Bank on Sunday, Reuters reported, citing Palestinian security sources.

Source: International Herald Tribune

More News in this Category