By Xinhua
Washington : The United States has accused the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) of igniting violence in the autonomous region.
"They are the culprits in terms of this new wave of violence… This all started with Hamas not only attacking the legitimate security forces in the Gaza Strip, but also starting a stepped-up campaign of rocket launches against Israel," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said at a news briefing Friday.
"The US government wants to see an end to the violence, a reduction in the violence because the victims here are the innocent Palestinian people," McCormack said.
"We believe (Palestinian) President Abbas is doing everything that he can in order to bring order back to the Gaza Strip," the spokesman added.
The latest air strikes by Israeli air forces targeting Gaza city, have killed at least seven Palestinians.