IDF thwarts Gush Etziyon terror cell

Palestinians attack Migdal Oz settlement; troops arrest 4 terrorists who hurled Molotov cocktails.

By REBECCA ANNA STOIL
IDF troops 224.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
IDF troops 224.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
IDF troops frustrated the designs of a four-man terror cell that planned to attack the Gush Etzion settlement of Migdal Oz late Friday night. Soldiers from the Shimshon Battalion of the Kfir Infantry Brigade opened fire after spotting the four men hurling Molotov cocktails and an explosive device at Migdal Oz. Following a short pursuit, two of the terrorists were arrested in an abandoned building in Beit Fajar, a village near Bethlehem. A third member of the group was later arrested in a checkpoint setup by the IDF in nearby El-Aroub. The three suspects were all hospitalized and will be interrogated by security forces after they are released from the hospital. During an initial interrogation, the Palestinians confessed to having participated in previous attacks on Migdal Oz. The fourth terrorist, who was identified as participating in the attack and is known to have been wounded, has not been apprehended. The IDF said that the troops had been stationed in Migdal Oz after several incidents of explosives being thrown at the settlement. Hours after that incident, Palestinians reported that IDF troops shot and wounded two Hamas operatives in the Gaza Strip early Saturday morning. The condition of the wounded men was not immediately known. In the later morning hours, a Kassam rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip and landed in an open area near a moshav in the Eshkol region. No injuries or damage were reported.