Islamic Jihad Threatens to End Gaza Ceasefire

Islamic Jihad Threatens to End Gaza Ceasefire

By | 2015-06-30T02:22:00-04:00 June 30th, 2015|News|0 Comments
Israel last August 26 ended Operation Protective Edge by sealing a ceasefire agreement with a confederation of terrorist organizations in Gaza, foremost among them Hamas and Islamic Jihad, but that deal now appears to be on the brink of collapse.
 
Khaled Al-Batash, a senior leader of the Islamic Jihad terrorist group, announced his organization may soon breach the agreement, in statements made during a speech to Islamic Jihad members at an event showing support for Khader Adnan, a jailed Islamic Jihad leader hunger-striking in an Israeli prison.
 
Al-Batash said that if Adnan dies as a result of his hunger-strike, the ceasefire with Israel will end, and “the enemy, the security of its settlers and cities, will be the target of the Islamic Jihad.”
 
“Khader Adnan may suddenly die at any moment, doctors have confirmed to me,”  Jawad Boulos, legal counsel for the Ramallah-based Prisoners Club of the Palestinian Authority (PA) told AFP on Saturday. In 2012 Adnan was released from prison after a 66-day hunger strike.
 
Al-Batash emphasized that Islamic Jihad will not give up on its fundamental principles and will continue to try and free jailed terrorists.
 
He called on Egypt to increase its pressure on Israel to force it to give in to Adnan’s demands, as he apparently is striking for better jail conditions, even though jailed terrorists have been revealed to receive perks criminals don’t receive in prison.
 
The Islamic Jihad leader also voiced support for the campaign being waged by Palestinian Authority (PA) embassies to rally international public opinion against Israel regarding Adnan, who has repeatedly incited for suicide bombings and terror attacks of various sorts against Israeli civilians.
 
The warning to breach the ceasefire deal comes even as the ceasefire has proven itself to be ever more tenuous in recent weeks.
 
This last month rockets have been fired at Israel no less than three times. In the first two attacks Hamas accused a Salafist affiliate of Islamic State (ISIS) for being behind the attack to cause Israel to strike back at Hamas.
 
There have been reports that Hamas may be involved in secret talks with Israel to reach an extended ceasefire allowing it time to rebuild its abilities to attack the Jewish state again, as the group reconstructs attack tunnels and develops domestically produced rockets.