The two attackers were spotted by Givati Brigade troops crawling toward the fence located south of Moshav Netiv HaAsarah carrying a large amount of explosives.
The terrorists, detected near the border fence around northern Gaza, were apparently killed by the explosives. A loud explosion was heard after the two were shot by Israeli soldiers.
It is not clear whether the terrorists intended to plant the bomb near the fence in order to kill IDF soldiers patrolling the area, or were planning to cross the border to attack Israeli civilians.
The response by the soldiers is consistent with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s decision last month to allow the IDF to respond to terrorists who can be spotted either just before or just after an attack on Israel.
Israel’s “policy of restraint” implemented after a ceasefire agreement with Gaza terrorists went into effect on November 26th was modified earlier in the month after tens of rocket attacks continued to batter Sderot and other western Negev communities.
Moshav Netiv HaAsarah is one of the western Negev communities targeted by countless Kassam rocket attacks for more than a year. Sderot, as well as strategic facilities in Ashkelon, have also been targeted frequently over the past few weeks since a ceasefire went into effect. Just this afternoon (Monday), a Kassam rocket was fired towards Sderot, landing harmlessly in an open area.
More than 100 violations of the ceasefire have battered southern Israeli communities in deadly rocket attacks, and Olmert is being bombarded with calls from all sectors of Israeli society to allow the IDF to respond to the onslaught.
Civilians who live their lives in constant danger from the attacks, politicians representing a number of different constituencies and IDF commanders who are forced to stand by without responding to the deadly threat are all calling for an end to the one-sided policy of restraint.
Cabinet ministers from three different political parties called for the IDF to return to Gaza just before entering Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting with the prime minister.
One of them was the Minister for Strategic Affairs, Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman, who told U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Saturday that the IDF’s return to Gaza was only a "matter of time."
Shas chairman and Minister of Industry and Trade Eli Yishai also backed a military return to the area. He said he is hoping for a government-supported, “organized and well-planned operation that will reduce terror’s ability to reach communities around Gaza.”
Jerusalem Affairs Minister Yaakov Edry (Kadima) was the third in the group who said it was time to put an end to the ongoing rocket attacks by allowing the IDF to do its job and defend the besieged Israeli civilians.
The terrorists, detected near the border fence around northern Gaza, were apparently killed by the explosives. A loud explosion was heard after the two were shot by Israeli soldiers.
It is not clear whether the terrorists intended to plant the bomb near the fence in order to kill IDF soldiers patrolling the area, or were planning to cross the border to attack Israeli civilians.
The response by the soldiers is consistent with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s decision last month to allow the IDF to respond to terrorists who can be spotted either just before or just after an attack on Israel.
Israel’s “policy of restraint” implemented after a ceasefire agreement with Gaza terrorists went into effect on November 26th was modified earlier in the month after tens of rocket attacks continued to batter Sderot and other western Negev communities.
Moshav Netiv HaAsarah is one of the western Negev communities targeted by countless Kassam rocket attacks for more than a year. Sderot, as well as strategic facilities in Ashkelon, have also been targeted frequently over the past few weeks since a ceasefire went into effect. Just this afternoon (Monday), a Kassam rocket was fired towards Sderot, landing harmlessly in an open area.
More than 100 violations of the ceasefire have battered southern Israeli communities in deadly rocket attacks, and Olmert is being bombarded with calls from all sectors of Israeli society to allow the IDF to respond to the onslaught.
Civilians who live their lives in constant danger from the attacks, politicians representing a number of different constituencies and IDF commanders who are forced to stand by without responding to the deadly threat are all calling for an end to the one-sided policy of restraint.
Cabinet ministers from three different political parties called for the IDF to return to Gaza just before entering Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting with the prime minister.
One of them was the Minister for Strategic Affairs, Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman, who told U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Saturday that the IDF’s return to Gaza was only a "matter of time."
Shas chairman and Minister of Industry and Trade Eli Yishai also backed a military return to the area. He said he is hoping for a government-supported, “organized and well-planned operation that will reduce terror’s ability to reach communities around Gaza.”
Jerusalem Affairs Minister Yaakov Edry (Kadima) was the third in the group who said it was time to put an end to the ongoing rocket attacks by allowing the IDF to do its job and defend the besieged Israeli civilians.