Palestinian, Jordanian FMs arrive in Cairo to discuss updates in Gaza

CAIRO – 31 May 2018: Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki and his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Al-Safadi arrived in Cairo Thursday to discuss the latest updates of the Palestinian issue.

Maliki and Safadi are set to meet with Sameh Shoukry, the Egyptian foreign minister during their one-day visit to discuss ways to stop the military escalation between Israel and Palestine, according to a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

The armed wings of 15 Palestinian factions, including Hamas’s Ezzedine al-Qassam brigades, have issued a joint statement asserting readiness to respond to the Israeli aggression against Palestinians with “all power”.

“The time in which the enemy [Israel] alone decides on the rules of engagement and the balance of the fight is over,” the statement read, adding that the Israeli armed attacks would be met by similar Palestinian attacks.

Israel said it hit dozens of military targets in Gaza on Tuesday in response to a barrage of mortar and rocket fire from the strip's Islamist rulers Hamas and an ally, in their worst flare-up since the 2014 war.

Tuesday's exchange of fire came after weeks of deadly unrest along the border between Israel and the blockaded Palestinian enclave.

Three Israeli soldiers were wounded by projectiles fired from Gaza, one moderately and two lightly, said the army. There were no immediate reports of any casualties in the strip.

In a rare joint statement, Hamas and Islamic Jihad declared shared responsibility for the attacks, saying it was in retaliation for Israeli attacks targeting their positions.

Three members of Islamic Jihad were killed in an Israeli strike on Sunday, with the group vowing revenge.

Early Tuesday, some 28 mortar shells were fired toward Israel from the Gaza Strip, with Israel saying most were intercepted by its air defense systems but leaving residents in the area on high alert and remaining close to bomb shelters.

One mortar shell exploded near a kindergarten building, a military spokesman said, causing damage to the structure. No children were present at the time.

It was the largest barrage fired from Gaza targeting Israel since the 2014 war, and Israel's response would also be the biggest since then.
Tuesday's incidents came after weeks of deadly demonstrations and clashes along the Gaza-Israel border, beginning on March 30.

The protests have called for Palestinians who fled or were expelled in the 1948 war to be allowed to return to their former homes now inside Israel.

The protests peaked on May 14, when at least 61 Palestinians were killed as tens of thousands of Gazans protested and clashes erupted on the same day of the US Embassy's relocation from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Demonstrations and clashes have continued at a low level since then. At least 121 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the unrest.