Palestinian official denies firing any rockets at Israel

CAIRO – 9 December 2017: Member of Fatah Central Committee Azam al-Ahmed denied in a TV phone interview on Friday that Hamas fired any rockets at Israel, he mentioned that Israeli raids launched against Gaza Strip resulting in four deaths.

As Reuters reported, Israel's military said its aircraft bombed militant targets in Gaza on Friday and the Palestinian Health Ministry said at least 25 people were wounded in the strikes, including six children.

The Israeli military said it had carried out the strikes on a militant training camp and on a weapons depot in response to rockets fired earlier from Gaza at Israeli towns.
Witnesses said most of the wounded were residents of a building near the camp.

Al-Ahmed added that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi once U.S. President Donald Trump started his speech recognizing Jerusalem as the Israeli capital on Wednesday. He added that the United States is no longer eligible to broker peace between Israel and Palestine.

Further clashes between Palestinian citizens and Israeli forces broke out on Saturday in Bethlehem, according to a Palestinian news websites. Protests by Palestinians against the U.S. President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital started after Friday prayers in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The Palestinian Red Crescent (PRCS) reported that two Palestinians were killed and 300 were wounded during the protests on Friday in the Gaza Strip and across the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that an Egyptian citizen, Mohamed el-Masri, 30, was killed in Khan Younes, southern Gaza Strip; the injuries were mainly caused by rubber bullets or gas inhalation.

Trump’s decision was met by a barrage of criticism and condemnations from many Arab and world leaders, while protests took places in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and different parts of the Arab world.

The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine called for staging protests against Trump’s decision to be a third intifada (uprising).

The Palestinian Authority (PA) filed a complaint at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) against Donald Trump’s on Thursday, Sky News Arabia reported.

After a four-hour meeting between the Palestinian factions of Fatah and Hamas to discuss Trump’s decision on Thursday, both factions announced their total rejection of the U.S. President‘s decision, stating that such a decision is an attack on Palestinian people.