Islamic Jihad chief: "Israel" to leave in denial

Source: Presstv.ir, 12-1-2009

Palestine's Islamic Jihad fighters say "Israel" is about to retreat from the Gaza Strip while keeping a brave face on its defeat.
"Israeli" army was "now thinking of how to leave Gaza without admitting defeat," the resistant group's secretary general reportedly said on Monday.
"The "Israeli" Army is no longer in any condition to achieve its goals," RIA Novosti quoted the senior Islamic Jihad official Ramadan Shalah as saying.
 
The group has been joining forces with the compatriots from Hamas against "Israel's" all-out aggression on the coastal area which has entered its 17th day.
The fighters claimed they had managed to inflict heavy losses upon the "Israeli" forces on Sunday.
The casualty figures on the "Israeli" side, however, remain far bellow the Palestinian losses.
"Israeli" has so far killed 919 Palestinians and has wounded 4,100 others in a bid to "deter Hamas' rocket attacks" - an objective "Israeli" Army has failed to meet.

On Friday, amid an influx of international calls urging cessation of the "Israeli" hostilities, "Israeli" Prime Minister Ehud Olmert dismissed UN Security Council Resolution 1860, which demanded an immediate halt to the offensive.
Later today, Olmert vowed that the retaliatory rocket attacks would be responded with an 'Iron fist'.
Tel Aviv has, meanwhile, been regularly violating a daily three-hour cessation of military operation which was announced to enable transference of food and medical aid. The Islamic Jihad had earlier slammed the lull as "Israel's" attempts at deflecting some of the verbal attacks.

Shalah also conditioned a ceasefire agreement on "a halt to "Israel's" aggression, a complete withdrawal of "Israeli" troops from Gaza, and the removal of blockades from the enclave."
Meanwhile, "Israel" has been arresting Palestinians in the West Bank accusing them of having links with the Gazan resistance movements. Earlier on Monday, 5 Palestinians were placed under arrest in Nablus based on similar claims.
Nearly 12,000 Palestinians are currently in "Israeli" jails. The freedom of the prisoners is yet another Palestinian demand urged during peace talks.