Warnings follow $5 million reward posted on group's leader, Ramadan Shallah.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFjihad member 298.88(photo credit: AP)
Americans would be in danger if the United States harms Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shallah, a senior official in the group said Tuesday, after Washington offered up to $5 million for the arrest of Shallah.
However, the official, Khaled Batch, did not make a specific threat against US citizens.
"If they (the US government) are going to do this ... the American people should be in danger, as the Palestinian people are," Batch told a news conference in Gaza City.
Another Islamic Jihad official later said the group would target American interests - but not Americans.
"The regular American citizen is not a target for us, because I am sure he is not pleased about American foreign policy," said the official, Khader Habib.
The militant Muslim group is sworn to Israel's destruction, and is responsible for several suicide bombings in Israel which have killed scores of civilians. The group's leader, including head Ramadan Shallah, live in Syria.
The United States made its offer on Monday for two terror suspects. The other is a Lebanese citizen allegedly associated with the Iranian-backed Shi'ite militia, Hizbullah.
