Islamic Jihad's chief Ramadan Shalah belittled Israeli threats against his militant group as "non-intimidating" cautioning, however, the truce will collapse.
In an interview with Beirut's daily as-Safir Friday, Shalah warned "if the Israeli enemy carried out its threats and committed a foolish act by assassinating leaders from the Jihad or other Palestinian groups, it will sign the death warrant not only for the truce but for the whole political process."
Shalah charged that Israel continued its aggressions after the declaration of the truce, noting that 44 Palestinian were killed, 451 were injured and 1,119 arrested since February when the unofficial cease-fire was reached. He said 10 Islamic Jihad members were killed and 300 others arrested despite the truce.
"There is a common conviction that the political process is clinically dead, and waiting for another Israeli foolishness to expire completely," he added.
Violence flared anew in recent weeks as Palestinians and Israelis traded accusations of violating the calmness, with the former firing rockets at Jewish settlements and the latter retaliating with raids and incursions.
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
