Roundup: Israeli soldiers fire at Islamic Jihad military post near eastern Gaza

Israeli soldiers stationed on the borderline area between Israel and eastern Gaza Strip opened fire on Sunday at an Islamic Jihad military lookout post near the borders, the group said.

The group's armed wing, known as al-Quds Battalion, said on its website that the Israeli soldiers had suddenly opened fire at one of its lookout posts east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip without warning.

It said no injuries were reported and several Islamic Jihad militants were at the lookout post pulled back peacefully and didn't respond to the source of fire. There was no immediate Israeli army comment to the shooting incident.

Last month, a Palestinian woman was killed and three children injured in an Israeli artillery shelling on the same area following a wave of tension that went on for four days.

The Israeli army said at that time that it fired back in response to firing mortar shells at its forces while destroying tunnels underneath the area.

Egypt mediated a ceasefire agreement in the summer of 2014 that was reached between Israel and a delegation representing Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), including Hamas movement and ended 50 days of Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip that killed more than 2,140 Palestinians.

Meanwhile, Islamic Hamas movement denied in an emailed press statement on Saturday that it had received an Israeli offer of a proposal to reach a 10-year ceasefire for providing economic privileges and relaxing its blockade it has been imposing on the Gaza Strip for 10 years.

Earlier on Saturday, local Gaza news reports unveiled that the Israeli government provided a nine-point proposal to a senior Hamas movement official through one of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's economy advisors.

The reports said that the Israeli letter was sent to Hamas leadership in Qatar and says that Israel is willing to agree on a ten-year truce with Hamas for improving the living condition in Gaza and providing the movement economic privileges.

The offer also included that Hamas should refrain from digging tunnels underneath the borders between Gaza and Israel and stop smuggling weapons into the coastal enclave.

Israel in return, according to the report, would agree to inaugurate a small commercial seaport between Gaza and Israel.

Israel also proposed a railway that links Gaza with Ashdod and Haifa seaports in Israel, which would accept the presence of Hamas representatives at the Israeli seaports to facilitate the process of export and import.

Israel would also keep Gaza Strip crossings opened and would let workers from Gaza to work in Israel.

The reports quoted a senior Hamas official speaking on condition of anonymity that these ideas are initials and it could be renovated in accordance to the public interests, adding that Hamas would positively study the proposal.

Hamas has been alone ruling the Gaza Strip since it had violently seized control of it in the summer of 2007 and routed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas security forces.

On Saturday, a Hamas spokesman said the reconciliation talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah Party held in Qatar with Hamas on ending their internal division had failed.

Sami Abu Zuhri said in an emailed press statement that Fatah movement "is the one which toppled the reconciliation talks held in Doha after its delegation withdrew from the second session of the dialogue."

"Fatah is responsible for the failure of the dialogue after it retreated from what had been agreed upon in previous sessions held in Qatar over the past few weeks," said Abu Zuhri from Gaza.

Over the past two days, two delegations representing rivals, Hamas and Fatah, held two sessions of dialogue in Doha to end nine years of internal split that divided the Gaza Strip and the West Bank into two separate territories.

Abu Zuhri said the two major outstanding files that the two sides disagreed upon were the file of paying the salaries of Hamas employees in Gaza and reoperating the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Legislative Council (PLC).

Hamas movement rejects the peace process and was listed among the world terrorist organizations. The movement's armed wing had violently seized control of Gaza in June 2007 and ousted President Abbas security forces.

In the West Bank, the Palestinian Prisoner Club Association in Ramallah said the Israeli army detained early on Sunday 14 Palestinians during raids on several towns and cities in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Israeli Radio also reported that an Israeli army force arrested three Palestinian young who were trying to smuggle an automatic M16 rifle in their car, adding that the three were taken for questioning.

Tension between Israel and the Palestinians has been mounting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem since October last year, where more than 209 Palestinians and 38 Israelis were killed, according to official figures. Endit