By Xinhua,
Gaza : Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas leader in Gaza said Tuesday that the militants who fired a makeshift rocket at Israel on Monday are collaborators with Israel.
“I believe that those who fired the rocket at Israel are collaborators with Israel in order to increase the pressure on Hamas movement and on the Palestinian people,” al-Zahar told reporters in Gaza.
On Monday, unknown militants launched a makeshift rocket from Gaza at southern Israel. No injuries were reported and no one claimed responsibility for the attack. Israel, in response, closed down Gaza commercial crossings.
Al-Zahar said that “the commitment to the truce with Israel is a Palestinian consensus, where all the factions and the armed groups had halted rockets attacks on Israel since the truce came into effect on June 19.”
Egypt has brokered an unwritten truce agreement between Israel and Gaza militant groups, according to which, Israel eases restrictions on the Gaza Strip commercial crossings and stops its air and ground operations for halting makeshift rockets attacks from Gaza at Israel.
Al-Zahar, meanwhile, accused Israel of trying to link between opening Gaza crossings and the release of the captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who has been held in Gaza for more than two years.
“We reject this and there will be no talks on releasing Shalit or the prisoners’ swap until Israel completely reopens Gaza crossings and also Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt,” he stressed.