An Islamic Jihad official on Sunday dismissed press reports that his movement's decided to suspend the firing of rockets at Israeli settlements adjacent to the border with the Gaza Strip. According to the report, the decision was taked to avoid a confrontation between Islamic Jihad fighters and Israeli occupation forces or Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip since June 14 2007.
The senior Islamic Jihad member Khaled al-Batsh said in a statement: "We will not stop rocket firing and we did not decide to do this. We use these missiles as a tactical weapon in times of need."
"I think that what has been published on the Islamic Jihad aims to confuse the Palestinian arena and to serve the Zionist enemy at this stage," he added.
The press reports in Palestinian websites conveyed that "the instructions were issued by the political wing of the Islamic Jihad to the military wing "Saraya Al-Quds" to stop firing rockets into Israeli settlements in order to avoid confrontation (with Israel) or Hamas."
