The Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper reported Sunday that sources in the Gaza Strip say that Egypt and Qatar are acting as mediators and have stepped up efforts to obtain calm, especially in Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem, following the operation in Jenin in which three Islamic Jihad terrorists were eliminated by Israeli Special Forces as they were on their way to carry out a terror attack.
Egypt and Qatar, according to the sources, have been working for the past two days to ensure calm ahead of Ramadan, understanding that an escalation towards the sensitive month will lead to increased terrorist activity and further escalation, also due to the motivation among terrorists to carry out attacks during Ramadan.
Along with the mediators’ contacts with the terror organizations over the past two days, there is also consultation with the Palestinian Authority.
Meanwhile, Sources in the Gaza Strip claimed that the terrorist factions in the Gaza Strip decided to act in response to the IDF operation in Jenin.
A source in the Gaza Strip indicated that the decision made by the terror factions is to expand the scope of terror activity but it is still limited to “the West Bank and Jerusalem,” meaning no rocket fire is expected from the Gaza Strip at this time.
The three terrorists killed in the operation on Friday night were identified as Khalil Tawalbeh, from Jenin, Saeb Abahreh, from al-Yamoun, near Jenin, and Saif Abu Libdeh, from Tulkarm. Another fourth cell member was arrested while armed in the Tul Karem area. All were members of the Islamic Jihad terror organization.
Ahmad al-Madall, a senior Islamic Jihad figure in the Gaza Strip, told reporters that the “resistance factions have decided to respond to the Jenin massacre and other massacres perpetrated by the occupation forces in the West Bank and Jerusalem.”
He stressed that “the Jenin Brigade of the Islamic Jihad, which the occupation is trying to break, is in a good position and capable of harming soldiers, and that the confrontation with the occupation has become an open confrontation and will take place in all Palestinian territories, especially in the West Bank and Jerusalem.”
On Saturday, sources in the Gaza Strip said that despite the remarks of the Islamic Jihad secretary-general Ziad Nahala, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad are still not interested in harming the calm in the Gaza Strip and will allow the violence to deteriorate in Judea and Samaria.
Islamic Jihad declared it will continue in the state of maximum readiness, in accordance with Nahala’s direction.
