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Israel to target Islamic Jihad militants
(AP)
Updated: 2005-10-27 19:01
In an initial step, Israel carried out four airstrikes in the Gaza Strip
early Thursday, targeting open fields used by militants to fire rockets, the
army said.
Islamic Jihad said Wednesday's bombing was to avenge the killing of one of
its West Bank leaders earlier in the week.
The suicide bombing embarrassed Abbas, who hours before the attack demanded
that the militant groups stop violating a cease-fire declared last February.
The small Islamic Jihad group signed on to the truce last spring but has
repeatedly flouted the cease-fire by claiming it has the right to retaliate for
any perceived Israeli violations. It has carried out four suicide bombings
inside Israel since the truce.
The much larger Hamas militant group, which plans to run in January
parliamentary elections, has largely scaled back its attacks since the truce
declaration. In contrast, Islamic Jihad is not participating in the vote and has
much less to lose by continuing to attack Israel.
Israeli officials accused arch-enemies Iran and Syria of assisting the
attackers, noting that Islamic Jihad is funded by Tehran and is headquartered in
Damascus.
"This infrastructure is murderous and we will try to deal with it and silence
it," Amos Gilad, a senior Defense Ministry official, told Israel Radio.
The attack came hours after Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad praised suicide bombings and said Israel should be "wiped off the
map." Vice Premier Shimon Peres called for Iran to be tossed out of the United
Nations for the president's comments, which drew wide international
condemnation.
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