White House Urges Israel, Palestinian Islamic Jihad to ‘De-Escalate’ Amid Violence

A fire burns after the Israeli military struck Islamic Jihad targets, it said in a statement, in Gaza on May 9, 2023. (Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

The White House on May 9 called on Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to “de-escalate” amid tensions between the two groups, with the latter launching hundreds of rockets in the past month.

“We are closely following Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip that killed three leaders of Palestinian Islamic Jihad,” a National Security Council spokesperson told The Epoch Times.

“Israel has the right to protect itself and defend its people from indiscriminate rocket attacks launched by terrorist groups,” continued the spokesperson. “We are also aware of reports that 10 civilians were tragically killed in the Israeli strikes. We call for all parties to de-escalate the situation. The U.S. commitment to Israel’s security remains ironclad.”

Israel launched Operation Shield and Arrow on May 8.

“Terrorism is a threat to civilians everywhere. [Palestinian] Islamic Jihad and its leaders have been threatening the security of Israelis for too long. The IDF has launched a targeted campaign against Islamic Jihad in Gaza,” posted the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Twitter with a video explaining who PIJ is and stating that Israel “will stand against terrorism.”

On May 9, Israel took out three top leaders of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is a U.S.-designated terrorist group: Khalil Bahitini, Tarek Az Aldin, and Jahed Ahnam.

Bahitini “was entrusted with approving and carrying out all terrorist activities from northern Gaza as well as, planning and directing terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians and planned shooting attacks against Israel in the immediate future, he was also responsible for the rocket fire toward Israel in the past month,” according to the IDF.

Az Aldin was the director of Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s operations in the West Bank from Gaza, according to the IDF.

He “was entrusted with planning and directing multiple attacks against Israeli civilians, the coordination between the Islamic Jihad in Judea and Samaria, as well as transferring funds for terrorism from Gaza to Judea and Samaria,” according to the IDF.

“Az Aldin was also responsible for disturbing inciting content of the terrorist organization in Israel meant to promote and encourage terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians,” the IDF said.

According to the IDF, Ahnam “entrusted with coordinating weapons and money transfers between the Hamas terrorist organization and the Islamic Jihad.”

In addition to the three senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad members, 10 others were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.

Senior Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh warned of retaliation for the strikes.

“Assassinating leaders with a treacherous operation will not bring security to the occupier, but rather more resistance,” he said in a statement.

In a statement, Palestinian Islamic Jihad threatened that “the Palestinian response to this heinous aggressive massacre will not be delayed.”