Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said Saturday that his organization is “investigating the rocket fire on Israel, as there was no order to any group to do it.”
Haniyeh was referring to Thursday’s rocket fire on southern Israel, which hit a religious school in the city of Sderot.
The statement was made during Haniyeh’s meeting with U.N. Envoy to the Middle East Nikolay Mladenov in Gaza.
According to Palestinian media reports, the Hamas leader stressed that Gaza’s rulers were “committed to the understandings reached as part of the ceasefire. We want it [the ceasefire] to continue.”
Also on Saturday, Khalil al-Hayya, the deputy of Hamas military leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar, said that a delegation of senior Egyptian officials is scheduled to arrive in Gaza in the coming days, in an effort to further understandings between Hamas and Israel, so as to prevent further escalation. A Qatari delegation is also expected to arrive in the Strip, he said.
Meanwhile, thousands of Palestinians rioted along the volatile Gaza-Israel border on Friday.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said 46 Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire. It did not elaborate.
Gaza’s Hamas rulers launched the protests more than a year ago, demanding an end to a crippling blockade Israel and Egypt imposed when the terrorist group seized the territory by force in 2007.
This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.
(JNS)
{Matzav.com}
