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Pompeo: Iran using Islamic Jihad to attack Israel

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pointed a finger at Iran for the latest flare-up on the Gaza border.

By World Israel News Staff

“Iran uses its terrorist proxy Palestinian Islamic Jihad to strike our great ally Israel,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted on Saturday.

“Iran does not want peace in the region. It does not want the Palestinian people to prosper. It wants more conflict. Until we address Iran’s threats, the cycle of violence will continue,” he tweeted.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired over 450 rockets at Israel in a 48-hour period starting on Tuesday of last week, after the IDF killed one of its commanders in a precision missile strike.

Although a Sunni organization, Palestinian Islamic Jihad is inspired by the Shi’ite revolution in Iran. According to the organization, the Iranian revolution proved that “Islam was the solution and Jihad was the proper means.” Iran is a major funder of the organization.

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Islamic Jihad doesn’t hide its connection to Iran. “Only Tehran will decide if this round continues or stops,” a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader told Israel Hayom last Wednesday.

A ceasefire that went into effect on Thursday morning seems to be more honored in the breach than in the observance as rockets continue to be fired from the Gaza Strip.

The IDF determined that the last attack – two rockets fired on Beer Sheba on Saturday night – were from Hamas and not Islamic Jihad.

However, the IDF says that the launch was carried out by rogue Hamas terrorists who were unhappy with Hamas’s decision to sit out the current round and took action against the will of Hamas’s leadership.

Israel’s Air Force bombed some empty Hamas installations in retaliation.