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Palestinians gather at the scene of a large explosion that killed a top Islamic Jihad militant and seven others late Friday. (AP)
Last update - 14:47 19/02/2008
Islamic Jihad, Palestinian rights groups at odds over deadly Gaza blast
By Reuters
Tags: Palestinians, Islamic Jihad 

Islamic Jihad criticized Palestinian human rights groups on Tuesday for saying they found no evidence that the Israel Defense Forces was responsible for a blast that killed eight people, including a commander of the group, in Gaza last week.

"There is no evidence to confirm that the explosion was caused by rocket or aerial bombardment by Israeli occupation forces, as mentioned in some media outlets," the Palestine Center for Human Rights (PCHR) and al-Mezan Center for Human Rights said in a joint statement on Monday.

"It is more likely that it was an internal explosion - the circumstances of which are unclear as of yet," the two groups said.
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Senior Islamic Jihad commander Ayman al-Fayed and seven other people, including his wife and two children, were killed in a blast on Friday that destroyed his home and two other nearby houses in Gaza's al-Bureij refugee camp.

"The [human rights groups'] report was politicized and it was aimed at putting pressure on resistance factions and causing confusion," said Abu Ahmed, spokesman for Islamic Jihad.

He called on the two groups to "apologize ... and retreat from the attempt to authenticate the fabricated story of the enemy".

Some local residents said they believed there had been an air strike on Fayed's home. But other said they heard no aircraft noise or other indications before the explosion.

Witnesses said they saw debris among the rubble of what looked like the locally manufactured Qassam rockets that Islamic Jihad and other groups fire at Israeli towns.

The IDF denied involvement in the explosion, and Israel has not bombed a house in Gaza since 2006, although it has carried out numerous air strikes on cars carrying militants.

Militants in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip also have been killed in accidental explosions and factional fighting.

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      2.   This is almost funny 14:51  |  RA 19/02/08
      3.   Poetic justice. 15:11  |  MaryRose 19/02/08
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      5.   The Palestinian rights groups 15:26  |  Shlomo from Tel-Aviv 19/02/08
      6.   Jihadists should remember: "what goes around, comes around" 15:26  |  Vittorio 19/02/08
      7.   Truth is a good thing.... 15:35  |  Lynn 19/02/08
      8.   The Gazan ?innocent civilians? 15:49  |  Jean Van Daem 19/02/08
      9.   Why isn`t Israel bombing houses? 15:49  |  Ron 19/02/08
      10.   Israel must isolate Hamas to the maximum 16:06  |  Stephen. 19/02/08
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      16.   WHY were Pal children near a "bomb factory"?Where is the protest 21:16  |  PETER SM 19/02/08
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      19.   The rights groups are to be congratulated 00:36  |  Anup 20/02/08
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      21.   For reasons unknown 01:53  |  Mark Lincoln 20/02/08
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      30.   #29 Nice bit of revisionism there, Ron 08:54  |  Johnboy 20/02/08
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