Egypt intervenes to restore calm in Gaza: official

GAZA, Oct. 27 — A Palestinian official said here early Saturday that Egypt is currently in contact with the leadership of his group in Gaza to restore calm in the Gaza Strip.
Dawood Shihab, spokesman of the Islamic Jihad, the second-largest militant group in Gaza after Hamas, said in a press statement that leaders of the group told Egypt that the Islamic Jihad is committed to calm as long as Israel is committed to it.
He said the group’s leaders in Gaza received a telephone call from senior Egyptian security intelligence officials and both sides talked about stopping launching rockets from Gaza into Israel.
Shihab said the Islamic Jihad leaders held Israel fully responsible for killing innocent civilians who participated in recent peaceful marches of return.
Tension between Israel and the Palestinians flared on Friday after Israeli soldiers shot dead four Palestinian demonstrators and wounded 232 others in eastern Gaza Strip, close to the border with Israel.
In response, Gaza militants fired barrages of rockets from Gaza Strip into communities in southern Israel. Sources said that the Islamic Jihad was behind the firing; but the group didn’t officially claim responsibility for it. – XINHUA