Palestinian Islamic Jihad delegation heads to Egypt amid tensions

Gaza, Feb 2 (IANS) A delegation of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) militant group will head to Egypt on Thursday for dialogue on defusing the escalating tensions between Israel and Palestine, an official said.Dawood Shehab, a PIJ leader from Gaza, told reporters that the group's secretary-general Ziad Al-Nakhala, at the invitation of Egypt, will lead the delegation to discuss the escalating violence in the West Bank and Jerusalem with Egyptian security intelligence officials.The meeting comes after a series of deadly incidents in the region. On January 26, Israeli forces raided the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied northern West Bank and killed nine Palestinians and wounded 16 others. A day later, a gunman opened fire on people near a synagogue at a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, killing at least seven people.Egypt has been mediating between Israel and the Palestinians and brokered several ceasefire agreements to end hostilities in the region.
--IANS ksk/

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