The Palestinians on Saturday expressed fear that Israel was preparing for a
massive military attack on the Gaza Strip to avoid releasing more Palestinian
prisoners as required by the recent exchange deal with Hamas.
Islamic
Jihad said that the deaths of five of its men in Rafah, the southern Gaza Strip,
on Saturday was an Israeli attempt to avoid fulfilling the second phase of the
prisoner exchange agreement that saw the release of IDF soldier Gilad
Schalit.
RELATED:Gilad Schalit: Split screen and split worldSavir's corner: There must be another wayThe second phase of the Egyptian-brokered deal calls for the
release of 550 Palestinian prisoners in the coming weeks.
The first phase
occurred on October 18 when Israel released 477 Palestinian prisoners in
exchange for Schalit.
Abu Ahmed, spokesman for the armed wing of Islamic
Jihad, called the Israeli air strike a “cowardly attack.”
He said Israel
launched the strike to avoid fulfilling the second phase of the “humiliating”
prisoner exchange.
“The occupation perpetrated this crime believing that
the Arab media is preoccupied with the revolutions in the Arab world and does
not care about what happens in the Palestinian territories,” Abu Ahmed
said.
However, he ruled out the possibility that Israel would wage an
all-out war on the Gaza Strip, “because it does not have the courage and ability
to do so and because its soldiers are afraid of being taken captive like Gilad
Schalit.”
The spokesman said that his organization would respond to the
killing of its men “with full force.”
One of the men killed in the air
raid was identified as Ahmed al-Sheikh Khalil, a top leader of the armed wing of
Islamic Jihad.
A few years ago, Khalil narrowly escaped another attempt
on his life by the IDF, but lost an arm. Four of his brothers, who were also
members of Islamic Jihad, have been killed by the IDF.
Mohammed al-Hindi,
a political leader of Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, said that from now on his
men would respond “immediately and directly” to any Israeli
assassination.
“Today’s crime won’t pass unpunished,” he warned. He also
said the killing of the five gunmen was designed to foil the release of more
Palestinians from Israeli prisons.
Hamas said that it was holding
consultations with Islamic Jihad and other groups about responding to Saturday’s
targeted killings in Rafah.
Abu Obaidah, spokesman for Izzadin Kassam,
the armed wing of Hamas, accused Israel of seeking to “spoil” Palestinian
celebrations over the release of prisoners in the Schalit deal.
“The
Zionist enemy is trying to ease the feeling of frustration and defeat brought
about by the blessed [prisoner exchange] deal,” Abu Obaidah said.
The
Palestinian Authority called for “ending Israeli escalation in the Gaza
Strip.”
Nabil Abu Rudaineh, spokesman for PA President Mahmoud Abbas,
also called on Palestinian groups “not to give Israel an excuse to launch
another war and tighten the siege on the Gaza Strip.”