Soldiers wounded in firebomb attack

Two Israeli Arabs arrested near Kalkilya trying to smuggle a Palestinian into Israel.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
An IDF officer and a soldier were lightly wounded after a firebomb set fire to the jeep they were traveling in south of Nablus on Monday afternoon. The soldiers were forced to abandon the vehicle. Both were treated at the site by medics, and one was later taken to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva. South of Kalkilya, soldiers arrested two Israeli Arabs caught attempting to smuggle in a Palestinian. Soldiers at a checkpoint became suspicious of the behavior of passengers in a car, investigated, and found a Palestinian hiding in the trunk. Initial questioning revealed that they had intended to smuggle him into Israel. All three were handed over to the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) for questioning. A number of Israeli Arabs have been caught over the years smuggling in Palestinians. In some cases they were tracked down by security forces after it was discovered that they had transported suicide bombers. Before dawn, security forces arrested 26 Palestinian wanted men affiliated with Hamas, Fatah Tanzim and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Ten were arrested in Beit Fajar south of Bethlehem; others were arrested in villages near Ramallah, Jenin and Nablus. Late Monday afternoon, a Kassam rocket fired into Israel landed in a kibbutz north of the Gaza Strip. The rocket exploded in an open area, no one was wounded and no damage reported. Shortly afterwards, IDF artillery units shelled uninhabited areas in northern Gaza used by terrorists to launch the rockets. In the early evening, a second rocket was fired. At press time the army was still attempting to determine where it fell.