Palestinian Islamic Jihad says its response to Israeli ‘crimes’ has ended
The group pledged to continue its ‘jihad and respond to an aggression [by Israel] on the Palestinians and their land" if Israel pursued its "aggression."
By KHALED ABU TOAMEHTrails of smoke are seen as rockets are fired towards Israel, in Gaza(photo credit: REUTERS)
Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad indicated on Monday that they were not interested in an all-out military confrontation with Israel.The military wing of PIJ, al-Quds Brigades, announced on Monday evening that its “military response to the Israeli crimes” against its members in the Gaza Strip and Syria had ended.The group pledged to continue its “jihad and respond to an aggression [by Israel] on the Palestinians and their land” if Israel pursued its “aggression.”The announcement is seen by Palestinians as a sign that PIJ is not interested in expanding the latest upsurge in violence with Israel.As in previous rounds of fighting between Israel and PIJ, Hamas did not participate in the latest rockets on Israel. On the other hand, Hamas did not make any effort to stop PIJ from launching rockets at Israel.PIJ took responsibility for the firing of dozens of rockets at Israel in the past 24 hours.Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip are also reported to have informed Egypt, the United Nations and Qatar that they do not want to give Israel an excuse to launch a major military operation.A statement published by al-Quds Brigades announced the end of its “military response to the crimes in Khan Yunis and Damascus,” referencing the killing of a PIJ member who tried to plant an explosive device near the border with Israel on Sunday and the Israeli airstrike against PIJ bases in the Syrian capital later that day.Earlier, Egypt invited representatives of Hamas, PIJ and Fatah to Cairo for talks to end the latest upsurge of violence in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources said.Representatives of the three groups are expected to arrive in Cairo later this week, the sources said, adding that Egypt’s General Intelligence Service was already pressuring Hamas and PIJ to avoid an all-out military confrontation with Israel.According to the sources, the United Nations and Qatar have also been pressuring Hamas and PIJ to prevent a further escalation of tensions with Israel.Hamas and PIJ did not confirm the reports about their representatives’ invitation to Cairo. They warned Israel on Monday against carrying out a large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip.The latest tensions erupted after a PIJ member, Mohammed al-Na’em, 27, was killed by the IDF on Sunday when he tried to plant an explosive device near the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. The IDF later used a bulldozer to remove his body, sparking condemnations from PIJ and several Palestinian factions.PIJ said Na’em was a member of its al-Quds Brigades.PIJ and Hamas officials said a video of the bulldozer retrieving Na’em’s body, which was widely shared on social media, “required an appropriate response from the Palestinian resistance.” It came in the form of a barrage of rockets fired at Israel over the past 24 hours.Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum warned that Israel would face “unprecedented resistance if it expanded its aggression on the Gaza Strip.”The rockets fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip came in response to the “crimes of the Zionist occupation and in the context of a unified Palestinian strategy that states that Palestinian blood is a red line that can’t be crossed,” he said.Barhoum added: “We’re not fans of war, but we resist and fight in defense of our people and their freedom and to preserve their dignity and end the occupation.”PIJ spokesman Musab al-Braim said there was agreement among the Palestinian factions that any “Israeli aggression must be repelled.” He threatened that the Palestinians would “cut off the hand of the occupation and defend its people.”
