Palestinian militants fired a barrage of rockets into the Israeli communities adjacent to the Gaza Strip on Sunday, in an apparent move to block entry of the stranded Palestinians through the Israeli-run crossings.
In a statement faxed to the press, the Islamic Jihad (Holy War) movement said four home-made missiles were launched on southern Israel's port city of Ashkelon and Sderot town.
Hours earlier, the group also claimed responsibility for shelling Kerem Shalom crossing, in southeastern Gaza Strip, with two rockets and four mortars.
Abu al-Riesh brigades, an offshoot of the Fatah movement, also claimed responsibility for the bombing.
The Palestinian National Authority, in coordination with Israel and Egypt, is set to bring 100 stranded Palestinians on Sunday through a passageway on the Israel-Egypt border and then through Erez crossing to the their homes in the Gaza Strip.
Egypt and Israel have agreed to transfer some 6,000 Palestinians stranded at the Egyptian side of Rafah terminal on the Gaza-Egypt border since mid June to the Gaza Strip.
They will enter Israel via Aloja terminal and then enter the Gaza Strip through an Israel-Gaza crossing, according to the agreement.
But the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), which took over the coastal strip on June 14 after defeating its rival Fatah, rejected the new mechanism.
It insists that the 6,000 Palestinians should pass through the Rafah terminal on the Gaza-Egypt border, the only gateway to the outside world bypassing Israel.
Source: Xinhua
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