Another ceasefire violation: A Qassam rocket was fired Thursday afternoon from the Gaza Strip into Israel,
exploding in an open area in Sderot's industrial zone. There were no reports of injuries or damage.
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| Days of our lulls / Alex Fishman |
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Israel doesn't believe in the Gaza ceasefire, but it's unable to decide on a large-scale strike in the Strip and needs some quiet time in the south. Hamas doesn't believe in it either, it just needs a break. At this point, says Alex Fishman, any truce is likely to be followed by a severe escalation in Gaza |
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The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, Fatah’s military wing, took responsibility for firing the rocket. Sources in the Gaza Strip believe that the firing was meant to embarrass Hamas and to harm the ceasefire efforts.
On Tuesday, Palestinians launched three rockets
towards Sderot. One of the Qassams landed in a house's backyard, causing great damage. Two women suffered from shock.
The Islamic Jihad
claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
responded to the barrage angrily, saying "this is a blatant and unequivocal violation of the understandings reached as part of the truce."
Qassam lands in Israel (Video: Infolive.tv
)
Defense Minister Ehud Barak
instructed the defense establishment on Tuesday night not to reopen
the crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip on Wednesday due to the rocket attack. His deputy, Knesset Member Matan Vilnai, decided Wednesday to keep the crossings closed until further notice.
Earlier Thursday, Hamas
spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that "the occupier's continued blockade on the Strip constitutes a violation of the truce agreement."
He spoke following a meeting held Hamas representatives with members of the Islamic Jihad, Popular Front and Democratic Front on Wednesday, in which the sides decided to form a joint committee which would monitor the Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement and decided on the response.
The al-Jazeera network reported that Abu Zuhri accused Israel of having "malicious intentions" due to its ongoing siege on the Gaza Strip despite the ceasefire agreement, and its refusal to reopen the crossings.
Among the meeting's attendees were Hamas' Said Siam and the Islamic Jihad's Nafez Azzam and Ibrahim al-Najar.
At the end of the meeting, the Jihad representatives clarified that they plan to implement the truce agreement. Daoud Shihab, a spokesman for the organization, said that his movement agreed with Hamas to implement the agreement and "suspend" its violent actions, should Israel honor the ceasefire as well.
Roee Nahmias and Ali Waked contributed to this report
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