TEL AVIV - Palestinian terror groups say the de facto cease-fire with Israel is still in force, despite the killing of three Palestinian youngsters in the Gaza Strip Saturday.
Senior Islamic Jihad figure Muhammad al-Hindi called on Palestinian groups to reassess the current lull, but clarified the truce is still on.
However, the Islamic Jihad considers the incident to be “the cold blooded murder of children,” he said, and added the shooting constitutes a severe violation of previous understandings.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhari, meanwhile, said the cease-fire is on the brink of collapse.
“What happened in Rafah was a despicable crime,” he told al-Jazeera Saturday. “We have the full right to respond…Israel is responsible for anything that happens in the wake of this incident.”
A decision to end the current calm has not yet been taken, Abu Zuhari said, but added the continued Israeli aggression, as well as the threats on the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, are undermining the lull.
'Hamas to choose timing of response'
Another Hamas spokesman, Mushir al-Masri, said Saturday’s incident would not go unanswered and the group would choose the appropriate timing for a response.
The Palestinian people and the Hamas movement would not remain silent “in the face of this crime,” he said.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas condemned the killing.
“The Palestinians who were killed were unarmed children and did not constitute a threat to Israel,” an Abbas statement said.