Top Islamic Jihad official threatens to attack center of Israel
'We have every right to bomb Israel with our most advanced weapons, and make the occupier pay a heavy price'
A senior official of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in the Gaza Strip said in an interview on Wednesday that his organization "will bomb" central Israel.
As Israeli military (IDF) is on high alert near the border with Gaza following the arrest of two senior PIJ members in the West Bank city of Jenin on Monday night, Khaled al-Batsh told The Media Line that they will “not settle for attacking around Gaza.”
“We have every right to bomb Israel with our most advanced weapons, and make the occupier pay a heavy price. We will not settle for attacking around Gaza, but we will bomb the center of the so-called State of Israel,” Batsh was quoted as saying.
According to Batsh, the PIJ was seeking retaliation for the arrest of its West Bank commander, Bassam al-Saadi.
“The Palestinian Islamic Jihad can’t sit silent and watch the Israeli crimes and the spilling of Palestinian blood in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip,” he sajd.
Commenting on Hamas reportedly opposing the possible attack against Israel, Batsh said that “no one attempts to stop us from using our right to stop the Israeli crimes.”
“Our goal is to make the occupation pay for its crimes, and to prove that the Islamic Jihad will keep to its commitment to protect the Palestinian people and the resistance anywhere,” he added.
While the IDF is blocking roads around Gaza for the second day in a row, the PIJ declared a state of “high alert among our fighters and combat units” and said it was "prepared to respond with force.” An IDF official quoted by The Media Line said that “the Israeli military is prepared for all scenarios, including an escalation, and is reassessing the situation regularly.”