A major Palestinian militant group declared on Wednesday that it would fire no more rockets at Israelis through Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, after a deadly barrage inadvertently killed a 3-year-old Palestinian boy.The declaration by Islamic Jihad could ease the withdrawal, set to begin in two weeks. Islamic Jihad has been responsible for many attacks on Israeli targets in recent weeks, making the group one of the biggest threats to a smooth pullout. Israel is leaving all 21 settlements in Gaza and four small enclaves in the West Bank. Israel has said it would not pull out under fire and has pledged a harsh response if troops or settlers are attacked. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack Tuesday night, which was aimed at a large gathering of Israelis in the nearby town of Sderot protesting the withdrawal plan. Instead, the rudimentary rockets, which frequently miss their targets, landed on a house in the Palestinian town of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza. The rockets killed the Palestinian boy and wounded nine other people, including five children. Four are children of a former Palestinian Cabinet minister, Hisham Abdel Razek, a senior official in the ruling Fatah party.
Islamic Jihad issued a statement denying any involvement and calling the attack an "unfortunate incident". It said it had issued orders three days ago to stop firing rockets "to give the chance for a quiet Zionist departure from our beloved Gaza". It was not clear how committed Islamic Jihad was to this latest cease-fire declaration. The group has attacked Israeli targets repeatedly throughout a 6-month-old truce between Israel and the Palestinians, saying it was acting to avenge Israeli violations. It has claimed responsibility for the two suicide bombings carried out during the truce.