The Israeli Navy has intercepted an unpopulated fishing boat that entered Israel’s territorial waters from Lebanon. It appears the boat drifted off course, and no signs indicating a possible terror attack attempt were found.
At approximately 1 p.m. Navy personnel spotted a boat moving north to south near the Israel-Lebanon border in the Rosh Hanikra area. A Navy patrol boat fired at the vessel, which then drifted a few hundred meters off the coast of Achziv.
Soldiers examined the possibility that the boat was booby-trapped, or, alternately, that it had drifted due to inclement weather conditions. A special Navy unit, including divers, examined the boat, but came up with nothing but fishing apparatus; the Navy patrol boat crew prevented other vessels from approaching the area until the examination of the fishing boat was completed.
The boat was pulled out of the water following the search.
Following the army’s instruction, police blocked a coastal road that runs from the northern town of Nahariya to the Lebanese border.
Yair Yam, owner of the “Putzker” diving club in Nahariya, said that in light of the bad weather conditions it is possible the boat may have been detached from its anchor and drifted from north to south.
The IDF issued new instructions for such incidents, as terrorists have made use of explosive boats in the past: In November 2002 a Navy soldier was moderately wounded and three others sustained light injuries when a Palestinian boat exploded as it attempted to leave Gaza’s territorial waters.
Hanan Greenberg contributed to the report
First published: 17:22, 10.22.5