Jihad vows to end rocket fire
Terror group makes announcement after three-year-old Palestinian killed by Qassam rocket
The surprising announcement followed the killing of a three-year-old Palestinian Tuesday. The child died after a rocket hit his home in Beit Hanoun. Another 10 Palestinian boys sustained wounds in the incident.
Wednesday morning, the Hamas and Islamic Jihad announced they have no connection to the incident. The Islamic Jihad said its members have been instructed to cease all fire until the upcoming Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Palestinian officials hope other groups would follow the Islamic Jihad and curb attacks on Israeli targets.
'National screw up'
Meanwhile, Palestinian minister Muhammad Dahlan referred to the incident as a "national screw up." Dahlan called on all Palestinian terror groups to "stop playing with residents' lives" and "end immediately and completely the firing of rockets on Israeli settlements."
Dahlan added he hoped the killing would serve as a lesson for all those who speak highly of mortar attacks.
"Mortars and rockets landing on innocent children is unacceptable and provides Israel with excuses to continue its aggression toward the Palestinian people," he said.
'Mistakes'
The Palestinians are continuing to debate the usefulness of Qassam rocket attacks.
Hamas, which has denied being involved in the attack, continues to claim that the rockets are a “strategic weapon against the occupation.”
Abu Ubayda, a Hamas spokesman, said the rockets would not be abandoned by the terror group, and said that most rockets aimed at Israelis did not hit Palestinians.
“We deny all attempts to blame us over the child’s death,” said Ubayda.
“We admit that mistakes sometimes happen and we do everything to avoid that, but in the course of five years there have been very few of these mistakes. Those that now raise their voice against the rockets are the same elements that have been against them since the start of the intifada,” he said.
Human rights centers in Gaza have also condemned the rocket attacks, saying that there has been an increase in cases of rockets falling on Palestinian civilian sites.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said that Palestinian factions are obligated to defend residents, and not to threaten them. The Center called for an end for armed Palestinian attacks launched from populated areas.
The Center said in a statement that the latest incident came less than 24 hours after a Qassam rocket fell on a Khan Younis hospital, causing heavy damage.
