The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad announced that it would fire no more rockets and mortars at Israel until after Israel's unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip was completed.
The 'change of heart' had nothing to do with a change in policy for the group responsible for numerous terrorist attacks, it abandoned attacks after a rocket it launched fell short of Israel and killed a 5-year-old Palestinian boy on Tuesday.
The rocket attack was aimed at a gathering of protesters in the Israeli city of Sderot who were voicing their opposition to the planned pullout. The rockets never reached Israel and instead fell on the Palestinian town of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza.
In addition to killing a five-year-old Palestinian boy, 10 Palestinians were injured by the rocket fire, six of them children. Four of the injured children are of former Palestinian Cabinet minister, Hisham Abdel Razek, a senior Fatah party official.
Islamic Jihad tried hard to separate itself from the attacks. Officially, they deny any involvement in the death of the Palestinian boy. An official from the militant group, which is dedicated to the destruction of Israel and is on the U.S. State Department's list of terrorist organizations, called the rocket attack an 'unfortunate incident.' They also claim to have decided to temporarily end rocket attacks on Israel three days ago 'to give the chance for a quiet Zionist departure from our beloved Gaza.'
Islamic Jihad has consistently violated the informal ceasefire negotiated by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in February.
'What took place last night is a national scandal,' PA Cabinet Minister Mohammed Dahlan told the Associated Press. 'This is unfortunately not the first time that Palestinian victims are being killed. ... We should put an end to this by any means, by force, or by pursuing and convincing.'
The unilateral Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip is scheduled to begin on August 15.
