Egypt: Palestinians behind rocket attack on Eilat
Police say rockets fired from Sinai fell on city's salt pools area, not in sea as previously reported. Egyptian source confirms rockets fired by Gaza terrorists
Ahuva Mamos
Published: 08.04.10, 12:47 / Israel News
Contrary to earlier reports, the two rockets that fell in the Eilat and Aqaba region on Monday landed in the salt pools area and not in the sea as previously suggested, Southern District Police Commander Yohanan Danino said Wednesday. Danino, speaking at a press conference, emphasized that recent events had placed the southern city on the list of areas threatened by terror.
Also Wednesday, Egyptian security sources confirmed the rockets were fired from the Sinai Peninsula and claimed that armed Palestinians from Gaza were responsible.
"The preliminary information that the security has received indicates that Palestinian factions from the Gaza Strip are behind that operation," the unnamed Egyptian source told the state MENA agency.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri criticised the Egyptian claim, calling it politically motivated. "This sounds silly and does not depend on any actual reasonable evidence," he said.
The rockets hit Israel's and Jordan's Red Sea ports, killing a Jordanian civilian and injuring three others, Jordanian and Israeli police said.
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"Armed Palestinians from Gaza were responsible for the firing of rockets," an Egyptian security source claimed, adding that the rockets were launched from the Sinai Peninsula.
Egypt's official news agency MENA agreed with this assessment: "The preliminary information that the security has received indicates that Palestinian factions from the Gaza Strip are behind that operation," the state news agency quoted an unnamed security source as saying.
