Israel, PLO trade barbs amid growing tension in Gaza

Israel and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) traded accusations on Sunday amid growing tension in the Gaza Strip. Earlier on Sunday, an Islamic Jihad militant, driving a motorbike in northern Gaza city, was badly injured after an Israeli missile directly hit him. A 13-year-old boy was also injured, according to the hospital and security officials. The Islamic Jihad Movement said in a statement that the ongoing targeting of its members by the Israeli army "would lead to the collapse of the ceasefire agreement," while the Israeli army said in a statement that Ahmed Sa'ed, the injured Islamic Jihad militant, was responsible for rockets attacks on Israel earlier that day. On Sunday, Israeli F16 war jets targeted two military compounds of Hamas in central Gaza Strip, according to Hamas security officials. No injuries were reported. An Israeli army spokesman said the two airstrikes were a response to earlier rockets fired from the Gaza Strip onto southern Israel. No damages or injuries were caused during the attack. Tension between Israel and Gaza militant groups grew in the last few weeks, raising concerns that the ceasefire agreement reached in November 2012 may collapse. Mushir al-Masri, a Hamas lawmaker in Gaza told Xinhua that the ongoing bombing by Israeli army is a serious development, and the targeting killing of militants may trigger more radical reactions from Islamic Jihadists. Meanwhile, Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported on Sunday that Israel conveyed a message to Hamas via Egypt, warning the Islamic movement of a military operation in Gaza if it does not curb rocket fire. Taher al-Nouno, an advisor to Hamas premier Ismail Haneya earlier denied that Hamas rule in Gaza has received any warnings from Egypt over an Israeli threat to attack Hamas. Asked about the possibility that Israel would sooner or later wage another large-scale military operation against Gaza, al-Masri said the threats were launched all the time. However, Zeyad Jarghoun, another official in the left-wing Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) told Xinhua that the Israeli threats to strike Gaza has to be seriously considered. He called for an urgent meeting for all the Palestinian factions to seriously study the Israeli threats.