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Jordan Condemns IDF’s Targeted Killing of Terrorist Leader in Gaza

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Jordan blames Israel for latest round of violence.

By World Israel News Staff

Jordan’s foreign ministry condemned the Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip that killed one of Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s top commanders – Baha Abu Al Ata.

The Jordanian statement comes as the Hashemite kingdom and Israel have contended with their own recent disputes involving Jordanians imprisoned in Israel and Jordan’s re-taking of two areas that were leased to Israel.

In a statement on Tuesday,  the Jordanian foreign ministry blamed Israel for the escalation in violence between Israel and Gaza terrorists, even though IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said that Israel had no wish to see an increase in tensions.

Fighting “will only increase tension and violence, deepen the environment of despair and promote extremist agendas in the region,” the Jordanian foreign ministry statement said.

Daifallah al-Fayez, a spokesman for the ministry, called for Israel and the Palestinians to return to negotiations, saying that dialogue was the best way to find a resolution to the conflict.

Meanwhile, Egyptian officials are attempting to bring about a ceasefire. Egypt’s general intelligence agency has “opened channels” with the U.S. and the European Union, according to anonymous officials.

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Egypt has acted as a mediator between Israel and terrorist groups in Strip. It helped negotiate an unofficial ceasefire between Israel and Hamas after a particularly intense period of fighting in May.

Israeli officials said they were compelled to assassinate Al Ata because he was a loose cannon who ignored the ceasefire and was planning more attacks.

In a Tuesday press conference, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Al Ata was a central terror figure, responsible for the launching of  “hundreds of rockets” into Israel and a “ticking time-bomb.”

Islamic Jihad launched over 200 rockets by Wednesday morning at Israeli civilian centers in an outburst of rage at the killing of its terror chief. Israel expects the fighting to last at least a few days.