Islamic Jihad Calls For End to Peace Talks

Abeer Ayyoub

Islamic Jihad militants ride on a pickup truck as they follow the convoy of freed Palestinian prisoner Ibrahim Baroud, upon his arrival in the northern Gaza Strip April 8, 2013. Baroud, who was convicted of his affiliation with the armed group of Islamic Jihad and for carrying out armed attacks against Israel, was released on Monday after serving 27 years in an Israeli jail, according to media reports. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXYD6V — Islamic Jihad militants follow the convoy of freed Palestinian prisoner Ibrahim Baroud, on his arrival in the northern Gaza Strip, April 8, 2013. — REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

Islamic Jihad has joined with Hamas to call on the Palestinian Authority (PA) to halt US-brokered peace talks with Israel, warning that resistance in the West Bank remains an option.

Supporters of the two factions held a demonstration on Friday, Aug. 23, urging the Fatah-led government in the West Bank to end the “absurd” ongoing negotiations.

Senior Islamic Jihad leader Khader Habib, who participated in the demonstration, said that while the initiative was called for by Islamic Jihad and Hamas, other Palestinian factions, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), took part.

“We will try all possible means to pressure the Palestinian Authority to stop negotiations with Israel and to withdraw its Palestinian negotiators from the talks,” Habib told Al-Monitor.

Islamic Jihad Calls For End to Peace Talks

Islamic Jihad has warned that its movement in the West Bank is not bound by the Gaza cease-fire agreement signed with Israel in November 2012.

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