A Kassam rocket was fired from now-Arab Gaza, mid-day Wednesday, landing near Kibbutz Yad Mordechai – one of the sites to which Jews forcibly evicted from Gaza were transferred.
Five Kassam rockets were fired from Gaza on Tuesday as well. One fell in Kibbutz Karmiya, one near Netiv HaAsarah, two near the Zikim IDF base. The fifth almost struck a sensitive building in the Ashkelon industrial area that would have resulted in a large explosion. No injuries or damage were reported.
In response, the IDF shelled areas in northern Gaza being used as rocket launching sites by terrorists. Many of the launching sites are in and around formerly-Jewish communities forcibly evacuated and destroyed by the IDF last summer as part of the unilateral Disengagement Plan.
The IDF carried out an arrest operation in Shechem early Wednesday morning, nabbing terrorists from the Islamic Jihad and PFLP terror groups. An exchange of fire took place when two terrorists barricaded themselves in a building in the northern Samarian city. Two bombs were thrown at troops and an officer was shot in the neck. He was evacuated to Sheba Hospital at Tel HaShomer, where he remains in moderate condition.
The terrorists were apprehended and the force left the city.
IDF troops arrested 10 terrorists, in the Ramallah area, in Bethlehem and in Hevron. Suspects in custody include Hamas and Fatah Tanzim terrorists. A man and a woman from Shechem and the nearby village of Burin were also each arrested for planning to commit a suicide bombing against Israeli civilians.
Meanwhile, the Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat reported Tuesday, quoting Jordanian intelligence, that at least ten Al-Qaeda terrorists have entered Gaza in recent weeks. They say the Al-Qaida men entered through the Rafiach Crossing between Gaza and Egypt and are residing in Rafiach and Khan Younis. Jordanian intelligence also reports that major weapons and munitions are being smuggled into Gaza.
PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas also told reporters, last month, that Al-Qaeda had bolstered its presence in Gaza.
Patrolling the tunnels beneath Rafiach between Gaza and Egypt used to occupy the time of a large number of IDF troops, using sophisticated technology to locate and destroy the terrorist thoroughfares. With a Hamas-controlled PA overseeing the border, smuggling goes unhindered, as demonstrated by the launch of a Katyusha missile toward Ashkelon on Israel’s Election Day.
Outgoing Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman MK Yuval Steinitz (Likud) said Tuesday that terror groups in Gaza now have unhindered access to weapons and military experts throughout the Islamic world – contrary to commitments by Egypt to prevent such a scenario prior to the Gaza withdrawal.
"Much more sophisticated weapons are arriving in Gaza, as are Global Jihad operatives who were previously unable to enter," Steinitz warned. "A weapons industry is developing there – and though still in its initial phase - is worrisome."