Jihad groups suspend suicide attacks on Israel

RAMALLAH, West Bank - The militant Islamic Jihad group joined Hamas today in suspending suicide attacks against Israel, at least temporarily until it decides whether to halt them for a longer period.

The decision followed an announcement by the militant Islamic movement Hamas to suspend attacks inside Israel until further notice after clashes in the Gaza Strip between militants and Palestinian police who are trying to rein them in.

Officials who attended a meeting of Islamic and nationalist groups in the West Bank city of Ramallah said Islamic Jihad had decided to halt suicide attacks inside Israel until the movement's leadership decided on a permanent course of action.

"Their (Islamic Jihad) representative informed us today they are weighing taking the same position as Hamas and that they have frozen suicide attacks until they reach a final decision," said Qais Samura'i, a member of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) who attended the meeting.

Asked if he could confirm the decision to freeze suicide attacks temporarily pending a more permanent decision, Nafez Azzam, a senior Islamic Jihad official in Gaza, said: "Yes."

"There is thinking within the movement toward taking this path (suspending attacks for a longer period)," he said. "The issue will be decided finally by the leadership abroad, but we are moving toward that path."

He said the move was taken out of "concern for Palestinian unity ... Islamic Jihad will not be a cause for creating internal tensions and strife."

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has started to crack down on militant groups under fierce international and Israeli pressure following a wave of Palestinian suicide attacks in Israel during the 15-month-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Although Hamas said it was suspending attacks in Israel, it left the door open to more attacks in the West Bank and Gaza.

The meeting involving DFLP and Islamic Jihad officials was one of a series of talks in Ramallah between Palestinian groups on future strategy and policy on suicide bombings.

At least six people died and more than 80 were wounded on Friday in clashes between Palestinian police and Palestinian militants angered by Arafat's clampdown.

Islamic Jihad and Hamas say their attacks were retaliation for Israel's use of force to try to quell the 15-month-old Palestinian uprising against occupation.

- REUTERS

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