Palestinian armed groups in Gaza Strip remain committed to a calm with Israel if the Jewish state reciprocates, Hamas' leader said on Friday
"I have met with armed factions over the past two days and they stated their position clearly: they are committed to calm as long as (Israel) abides by it," said Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' leader in the Gaza Strip.
On Friday, armed Palestinians fired one rocket towards the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon, northeast of the Gaza Strip, and two mortar shells at troops operating along the border, an Israeli army spokesman said, according to Reuters.
Haniyeh, who was speaking after Friday prayers in Gaza, also sought to calm tensions which have arisen with Egypt following a breakdown of reconciliation talks between Hamas and Fatah which the Egyptians have been mediating. "In day-to-day relations there may be differences, this is true, but it does not mean that there is a strategic tension with our brothers in Egypt," Haniyeh noted.
