A senior member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) ruled out Monday any ceasefire agreement stopping rocket attacks against Israel.

Kayed al-Ghoul, politburo member of the PFLP, told reporters that "if a mutual ceasefire reached, it would not include halting rocket attacks into Israeli towns."

He justified launching homemade rockets as form of resisting the occupation, linking a ceasefire agreement with an Israeli commitment to stop shelling, assassinations and arrests against the Palestinian people.

"The Palestinian factions are still negotiating a ceasefire," said al-Ghoul.

The ceasefire was part of a Palestinian plan shaping the future of the Palestinian territories, especially the conflict with Israel.

The plan calls for an independent Palestinian statehood in Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem, while urging to reduce attacks against Israel.

Al-Ghoul said that the resistance will have the right to strike into other places if Israel increased aggression against the Palestinians.

The plan was adopted in principle by the Palestinian factions, except the Islamic Jihad (Holy War). But the seizure of an Israeli soldier in Gaza, and the Israeli response, prevented the deal to come into effect.

Regarding the captive soldier, Gilad Shalit, al-Ghoul revealed that "he (the soldier) was not part of the ceasefire talks," adding the issue was being discussed through regional and international channel.

Israel pressed ahead a four-week-old air and ground operation into the Gaza Strip in a bid to rescue the Israeli soldier kidnapped by Palestinian militants and halt Palestinian rocket attacks.

Source: Xinhua