Israeli soldiers walk next to armored vehicles near the Gaza Strip on November 13, 2019. (Photo by AFP)
The Gaza-based
Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement says it is holding fire after the
regime in Israel accepted its key demands, including stopping targeted
killings, as part of an Egypt-mediated truce aimed at ending the
military confrontation between the two sides.
Speaking on Thursday morning, the Islamic Jihad’s spokesman, Musab
al-Braim, confirmed earlier reports of the truce, saying the ceasefire
came into force at 5:30 a.m. local time (3:30 GMT), Reuters reported.
Braim said Tel Aviv had agreed to both end its targeted killings of
Palestinian resistance fighters and lethal gunfire at weekly Palestinian
demonstrations against occupation near the fence separating the Gaza
Strip from the Israeli-occupied territories.
“The ceasefire began under Egyptian sponsorship after the Occupation
(Israel) submitted to the conditions set by Islamic Jihad on behalf of
Palestinian resistance factions,” Braim told Reuters.
Earlier, Egyptian sources said the “ceasefire agreement comes as a
result of Egypt’s efforts” and has been endorsed by “Palestinian
factions including Islamic Jihad.”
The Tel Aviv regime had agreed to the Islamic Jihad’s key demands in
exchange for the resistance group to stop firing rockets into the
occupied territories and ensure Gaza rallies are peaceful.
There has been no confirmation so far from the Israeli side. Israel's "Iron Dome" system fires interception missiles as
retaliatory rockets are launched from Gaza towards the occupied lands,
as seen from Ashkelon on November 13, 2019. (Photo by Reuters)
Nonetheless, shortly after the ceasefire, rocket warning sirens were reportedly sounded south of the occupied lands.
On Wednesday night, Ziad al-Nakhala, the Islamic Jihad secretary
general, said the resistance group had laid out a list of demands for
the truce with Israel to Egyptian moderators.
“We gave specific conditions for a ceasefire,” he told the
Beirut-headquartered Al Mayadeen TV channel. “If Israel accepts them, we
will accept a ceasefire.
“If Israel does not accept them, we are going to continue to fight for an open period of time,” he warned.
The Islamic Jihad’s “simple and humble” demands include an end to
assassinations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Israeli troops not
firing at innocent civilians during Gaza protests, and Tel Aviv abiding
by the understandings regarding Gaza reached in Cairo during previous
ceasefire negotiations, Nakhala explained.
The escalation erupted early on Tuesday, when Israel assassinated
senior Islamic Jihad commander Baha Abu al-Ata, along with his wife, in a
targeted strike on their home in Gaza.
A similar strike also hit the home of another Islamic Jihad commander in Syria on Tuesday, but missed the target.
Israel continued its deadly air raids on the besieged coastal sliver,
killing at least 32 Palestinians and injuring 97 others over the past
two days.
Ata’s assassination sparked Palestinian retaliatory attacks into the occupied territories.
A total of 300 rockets are estimated to have been launched from Gaza,
reaching as far as Tel Aviv and shutting schools in the occupied
territories’ central and southern areas.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Islamic Jihad spokesman Abu Hamza said
Israel is hiding the true extent of destruction caused by retaliatory
rocket attacks.
“We challenge the Zionist military censorship to reveal pictures and
videos showing the extent of the destruction of factories, headquarters
and settler houses in the occupied cities,” he wrote.
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