Saraya al-Quds, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, and al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, claimed responsibility on Sunday for firing five homemade rockets from Gaza at the Israeli town of Sderot.

"We claim responsibility for launching rockets as a natural reaction to what the Zionist occupation is doing, including incursions, assassinations and arrests in the West Bank," said Jihad's leaflet.

"We reiterate that there is no space to speak about a truce amid the continuation of the Zionist [Israeli] aggression on all our territories," it added.

The launching of homemade rockets from Gaza at Israel, came hours after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed on a mutual cessation of fire.

Nablis Abu Rudeineh, an aide to Abbas had said on Saturday night that Abbas informed Olmert on the phone that Palestinian militant groups are committed to stop launching rockets from Gaza at Israel.

Abu Rudeineh added in a news conference held in Gaza that Olmert told Abbas that he would instruct the Israeli army to withdraw from Palestinian territories it had seized in the past few days.

Source: Xinhua