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Islamic Jihad’s popularity grows after Gaza war

The public approval ratings of Islamic Jihad received a boost after the Gaza war, benefiting from the group's determination to stay out of the Hamas-Fatah feud.
A Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant holds an RPG during a rally celebrating what the militants say was a victory over Israel following a ceasefire in Gaza City August 29, 2014. An open-ended ceasefire, mediated by Egypt, took effect on Tuesday evening. It called for an indefinite halt to hostilities, the immediate opening of Gaza's blockaded crossings with Israel and Egypt, and a widening of the territory's fishing zone in the Mediterranean. Israel launched an offensive on July 8, with the declared aim of

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The latest Gaza war has done little to change the ideological position of Islamic Jihad, which continues to repeat its goals of resisting the occupation and recovering the entire land of Palestine.

Islamic Jihad is firm in its position, although on the ground it agreed to a truce that is not in line with its creed, which calls for a ceaseless struggle against the occupation forces. During an interview with Al-Monitor, Khaled al-Batsh, a leader of Islamic Jihad, stressed that the movement is committed to a cease-fire and denied any knowledge of mortar shelling of Eshkol on Sept. 16.

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