Israel will not stop assassination policy: Official

By Abdel Raouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – An Israeli government official said on Thursday that Tel Aviv will not stop the assassination policy nor will it hand over the body of Islamic Jihad movement's leader Khader Adnan, who died in an Israeli prison after 86 days of hunger strike.

“Israel did not commit to stopping targeted killings,” the official said, according to the Israeli news website Ynet.

"They can ask for a halt on targeted killings, but we are not committed to it,” the official added.

He pointed out that the demand to cancel the march of Israeli flags in East Jerusalem next week is not on the agenda.

He noted that “there are contacts with the Egyptians, and we did not promise them anything.”

Earlier on Thursday, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group demanded that Israel end its assassination policy in order to establish a cease-fire.

Speaking to Anadolu, the group's spokesman Dawood Shihab said no progress has yet been achieved on a cease-fire between the Palestinian groups in Gaza and Israel.

Egypt continues negotiations with the Palestinian factions and Israel in an effort to reach a cease-fire.

At least 25 Palestinians were killed and 76 injured in the airstrikes since Tuesday, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Three senior military commanders of the Islamic Jihad group, their wives and children were among those killed in the attacks.

Palestinian factions fired a barrage of rockets Wednesday into Israel amid tensions following Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army has said the airstrikes are part of its Operation Shield and Arrow, an offensive launched after rockets were fired from Gaza following the death of a Palestinian inmate who was on a hunger strike in an Israeli prison.

According to Palestinian figures, at least 130 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since the start of this year. At least 19 Israelis have also been killed in separate attacks during the same period.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi