Islamic Jihad responsible for mortars fired towards Israel last week
The investigation into the incident which interrupted a ceremony for missing IDF soldier St.-Sgt. Oron Shaul found mortars were timed to coincide with ceremony.
By ANNA AHRONHEIMUpdated: JANUARY 3, 2018 11:32Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants attend a military parade in Gaza October 19, 2016.(photo credit: REUTERS)
The mortars fired from the Gaza Strip to southern Israel last week were very likely launched by Islamic Jihad, the investigation into the event has found.Family members of fallen St.-Sgt. Oron Shaul take cover during a concert marking his 24th birthday (MK Haim Yelin)In addition, the timing of the launches were calculated to coincide with a ceremony held in Kfar Aza marking the 24th birthday of missing IDF soldier St.-Sgt. Oron Shaul who was killed in 2014 during Operation Protective Edge during the battle of Shujaiyya. His remains have been held by Hamas ever since.One of the rockets struck a building in the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council, causing damage but no injuries. The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted the two others. The IDF quickly retaliated with fighter jets and tank fire striking two Hamas targets in the northern Gaza Strip and struck an additional Hamas outpost in the southern Gaza Strip the following evening.Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman told Channel 2 news on Saturday night that the mortars had come from Iran and had been supplied to different groups in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.A statement by the IDF's Spokesperson's Office says the fire on Friday “proved once again that Iran, through rogue and extremist terrorist organizations, is acting to bring about a deterioration in the regional situation."Iran, the statement continued, “is playing with the lives of the Gazan residents that could lead the strip to an escalation after years of quiet on the security front.” Nonetheless Hamas is “fully responsible for the situation and its implications.”According to the investigation, the mortars fired towards Kfar Aza were identical in their characteristics to the 12 mortars fired on November 30 by Islamic Jihad towards an IDF outpost in the northern Gaza Strip.The barrage, which caused no casualties is believed to have been the response to Israel destroying a PIJ cross-border attack tunnel in September, killing 14 terrorists. The group said that the tunnel, which had been detected using newly implemented advanced technology and destroyed in a controlled explosion inside Israeli territory, had been under construction “for years” and had vowed to revenge those who had been killed.Israeli officials have accused Iran of growing involvement in the Hamas-run enclave and according to Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, Iran has increased its support for Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the last few months to $100 million in order to have more influence in the enclave. Tehran had frozen its financial support to Hamas in 2012 after the group refused to support the Assad regime and in September was reported to be financing Hamas by some $60-70 million.Some 20 projectiles have been launched towards southern Israel since US President Donald Trump recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital three weeks ago. Several have been intercepted, including one over the city of Ashkelon, some 20 kilometers from Gaza, and a number have slammed into Israeli territory.In November the commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force Maj.-Gen. Qassem Soleimani spoke on the phone with the commanders of Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades -the armed wing of Hamas, telling them that Iran and other “resistance forces” in the region were ready to support Palestinians and Jerusalem.
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