The Shemini Atzeret-Simchat Torah holiday on Wednesday night and Thursday saw no let-up in Arab terrorism against Israelis, nor in the IDF's counter-terrorism measures.
Palestinian Authority terrorists in Gaza fired at least 12 mortar shells and one Kassam rocket at Israeli communities and military targets over the course of Wednesday and Thursday. The Kassam 
Palestinian Authority terrorists in Gaza fired at least 12 mortar shells.
exploded outside the Negev city of Sderot, while three of the mortars struck another town in the western Negev. Several mortar shells also landed in the area of the perimeter fence around northern Gaza. No one was injured and no damage was reported in the attacks.
The bulk of the terrorist shelling took place a short time before PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas began a meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem on Wednesday. Hamas has vowed to try to prevent negotiations with Israel and block steps towards the US-sponsored international conference on the Middle East next month.
In other attacks by PA Arabs on Thursday, an IDF soldier was lightly injured by heavy stones thrown at his unit near the village of Bilin, west of Ramallah and southeast of Modiin. The wounded soldier received emergency care at the site of the attack and was taken to a hospital for further treatment. Bilin has been the scene of frequently violent protests against the separation barrier Israel built alongside the village.
In addition, a group of PA residents threw rocks at an Israeli vehicle near a village southeast of Kalkilya and Kfar Saba on Thursday. The car was damaged, but no injuries were reported.
Later in the evening, an armed Arab resident of Samaria was taken into custody by soldiers manning the Hawara checkpoint, south of Shechem. During routine checks, the soldiers discovered two large knives among the individual's personal belongings. The knives were confiscated and the suspect was handed over to the General Security Services for further questioning.
Two Israeli Air Force airstrikes on PA terrorists in Gaza over the past two days focused on Rafiah, a border city that straddles the Gaza-Egyptian border and is a center for the smuggling of drugs and weapons. In one of the IAF attacks, on Wednesday, one terrorist was killed and three others were wounded. A second strike, carried out on Thursday, targeted three Islamic Jihad terrorists involved in rocket attacks on Israeli towns. Arab residents of Rafiah said that the IAF airstrike failed and that the terrorists managed to escape. Three passersby reportedly suffered light-to-moderate wounds in the operation.
During IDF operations against the terrorist infrastructure in southern Gaza on Wednesday, soldiers identified and shot an armed PA resident. In two separate incidents, enemy gunmen opened fire at IDF positions along the central Gaza perimeter fence. No injuries were reported among Israeli troops.
In other incidents involving Gaza-based terrorists, Hamas claimed that one of its members was killed and two were injured Wednesday when a smuggling tunnel collapsed on them. Three Hamas terrorists were wounded in an explosion in Gaza on Thursday morning. The three, members of Hamas's Special Security Force, were targeted by a roadside bomb as they drove through Gaza City. Doctors said the Hamas men suffered moderate to serious wounds. The cause of the explosion is not yet clear; however, on Tuesday, four Hamas terrorists were killed in a similar blast that IDF officials said was the result of an anti-tank missile attack by rival terrorists.
