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| By Associated Press December 28, 2006 |
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The violent Islamic Jihad held the fate of a month-long Gaza truce in its hands after Israel decided to attack Palestinian militants firing rockets in violation of the cease-fire.
Israel's leaders on Wednesday approved "pinpoint" attacks on rocket squads a day after two 13-year-old boys were seriously wounded by a rocket fired from Gaza. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
Islamic Jihad members said Wednesday they were hoping to provoke Israeli retaliation and sabotage the truce to restore Palestinian unity against a common enemy -- Israel.
"That's one of the main reason for resuming (rocket) attacks," said Abu Ahmad, a spokesman for the group. Islamic Jihad believes a renewed conflict with Israel would halt fighting between rival Palestinian groups that some say may lead to civil war.
Islamic Jihad is believed to be made up of just 2,000 armed Palestinians. While the larger militant Islamic group, Hamas, has turned to politics and is now running the Palestinian government, Islamic Jihad has remained an armed force dedicated to destroying Israel.
Hamas shares the ideology of rejecting the existence of a Jewish state in an Islamic Middle East but has largely refrained from attacks since an overall cease-fire was put in place in February 2005.
Islamic Jihad has sent eight suicide bombers to attack Israel and the West Bank during that period, killing more than 30 people.
Islamic Jihad takes orders from Ramadan Shallah, a Palestinian from Gaza who now lives in exile in Syria. The group considers the 1979 Iranian Revolution to be the beginning of a new era for the Muslim world and wants to turn all of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza into an Islamic state. The group is believed to receive funding from Iran.
Though Islamic Jihad grudgingly accepted the Nov. 26 truce in Gaza, it quickly claimed the right to retaliate for Israeli military operations in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) -- though no truce was declared there -- resuming rocket fire at Israel. The group has fired at least 38 rockets at Israel in the past month.
The rocket fire fits Islamic Jihad's ideology of constant armed confrontation with Israel. Now, said Abu Ahmad, triggering a resumption of violence would serve the double purpose of ending Hamas-Fatah clashes and focusing anger at Israel.
"Palestinians will not blame us if Israel responds," he said. "They know that the truce has led to the (Palestinian) infighting."
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said Israeli retaliation would be limited to "pinpoint" operations meant to foil the rocket launchers. "At the same time, Israel will continue to abide by the cease-fire," the statement said.
Hamas government spokeswoman Ghazi Hamad denounced the Israeli decision to "continue their aggression against our people," but added: "We still believe that this agreement is alive, and both sides should respect this agreement because it is (in) the interest (of) our people."
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, in Jerusalem to prepare for a Jan. 4 summit between Olmert and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, urged Israel to show restraint. "We need to continue with the peace process because that is the way to progress," he said.
In Egypt, Abbas said he had proposed opening secret "backdoor" peace negotiations with Israel.
"It is the right time to talk about this issue seriously," Abbas told reporters after he met Mubarak. Abbas said he raised the issue with Olmert last weekend, and the Israeli leader promised to consider it.
There was no Israeli reaction.
Also Wednesday, Olmert said Syria's actions prove that its offers of peace talks with Israel are meaningless.
In a meeting with Israeli ambassadors to Europe in his Jerusalem office, Olmert said Israel is interested in peace with Syria, according to a statement from his office.
However, the statement went on, "the actions of the Syrian regime, including its support for Hezbollah and its promotion of instability in Lebanon, its sheltering of the leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad and its close ties with the president of Iran, who calls for the destruction of Israel, show us, unfortunately, that there is nothing behind its declarations" in favor of peace talks.
In recent weeks, Syrian President Bashar Assad has offered to restart peace talks with Israel. The offers came in different forms, including news interviews. |
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