Soldiers arrested three wanted terrorists at El Kadar, an Arab village adjacent to Bethlehem and Efrat, in Gush Etzion. None of the Israeli forces was wounded in the overnight maneuvers. Jewish motorists have been the targets of dozens of firebombing and stone throwing attacks in the area.
Highway 60, the major north-south artery that connects the Arad-Be'er Sheva highway with Jerusalem, bypasses Efrat and the Arab village, where the government has built a separation barrier along part of the road.