Erez crossing (archives)
Photo: Tsafrir Abayov
Explosive devices found near Gaza border
Military officials say terror attack thwarted Saturday following incident in which three Palestinians were killed
Israel Defense Forces soldiers have thwarted a massive terror attack near the border fence over the weekend, military sources said Tuesday, after the troops found three explosive devices in the northern Gaza Strip, near the Erez crossing. The forces detonated the charges in a controlled manner.
An Air Force jet and forces from the Golani Brigade were dispatched to the area. Three of the Palestinians were killed
and the fourth was injured.
According to the army, the explosive devices were uncovered in the same area where four Palestinians were spotted early Saturday. The Palestinians were acting suspiciously and were shot by an automatic firing system.
Terrorism
Court says Muhammad Abu Dahar, who also convicted of reporting to PFLP on IDF movement, took active part in terror groups' efforts to harm Israel
According to military sources, the incident illustrates that the terror organizations are continuing their efforts to carry out attacks on the border fence in order to target IDF forces.
The soldiers also uncovered additional devices which prove, according to the army, that the four Palestinians were attempting to carry out a terror attack and perhaps even plant some of the explosives on the Israeli side of the border.
According to the Palestinians, the four were laborers trying to infiltrate Israel in order to find work. According to another Palestinian report, the suspects approached the border fence in order to search for ruins in a building destroyed during Operation Cast Lead and sell them in the markets.
Since the end of the Israeli operation in Gaza, a relative calm has been maintained around the Strip, but such incidents near the border fence have been taking place quiet often. Last month, an 18-year-old Palestinians tried to approach the fence and was shot by an IDF soldier. The army said he was part of a group attempting to plant an explosive device, but Hamas claimed he and his friends were bird hunting.
