Islamic Jihad seeks ‘balance of terror’ with Israel

Rocket attacks on southern Israel aimed to establish a “balance of terror,” not kill Israelis, Abu Ibrahim, a leader of Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigade told AFP on Saturday.

Abu Ibrahim praised the fact that last week’s bombardment subjected cities across southern Israel to run for shelter for days on end.

“The fact that a million Israelis were stuck inside shelters and suffered as our people do is more important for us than deaths,” he said.

He warned that Islamic Jihad possesses rockets that can strike Tel Aviv, and that his faction would use them in the next round against Israel. Though he denied Iranian backing, he said that an Israeli attack on Iran would provoke an Islamic Jihad response.

He further stated that Islamic Jihad does not smuggle most of its weaponry through tunnels, rather, it produces 70% of its weaponry in the Gaza Strip. Islamic Jihad manufactured Grad-style rockets, which were fired at Israel in last week’s attacks.