IDF troops discovered an explosives lab in Shechem Friday night during a counter-terror operation, and another one on Sunday.
On Friday, elite Palsar Nachal unit soldiers located the lab, filled with ready-to-use bombs and explosive material, in the old quarter of Shechem. The Biblical town was assigned to full control of the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords and has become the terror capital of Samaria.
Five men were arrested and IDF sappers destroyed the explosives in a controlled manner.
On Saturday, soldiers from the Golani Brigade came under fire from terrorists in the area. The soldiers were blocked from pursuing the attackers by a crowd of rioters, who hurled bricks and stones at them. An explosive device was hurled at the soldiers as well. The IDF force responded with rubber bullets and three rioters were injured.
On Sunday afternoon, another weapons lab was discovered - this one including a LAW (light anti-tank weapon) missile, five pipe bombs, a large explosive device, two firebombs, four sacks of fertilizer used for explosives, and three magazines. The lab was blown up in a controlled explosion by IDF sappers.
IDF troops continued to come under enemy attack on Sunday, targeted by Molotov cocktails and rocks. The forces responded with riot-dispersal means. No soldiers were hurt, and one wanted terrorist was arrested.
Hamas spokesman Razi Hamad said that the IDF operation in Shechem was designed to sabotage the Mecca Agreement enabling a Hamas-Fatah unity government. The agreement was reached earlier this month, but has not yet been implemented.
Fatah-Hamas Violence Leaves Five Dead
Five PA Arabs were killed and 17 wounded in clashes over the weekend between Fatah and Hamas-supporting clans in the southern Gaza town of Khan Yunis, which borders the former Jewish town of N’vei Dekalim.
The fighting broke out when members of the Karuah clan, which supports Fatah, killed 27-year-old Mohammed al-Ghalaban, a member of Hamas. Ghalaban’s family was quick to respond and attacked a Karuah family home, leading to a heavy exchange of gunfire. 22-year-old Hazam Karuah and a 27-year-old female family member were killed in the fighting, as was a 75-year-old man who was caught in the crossfire. Street battles lasted 48 hours and included the firing of mortar shells at the families' homes.
The clashes may signal renewed internecine violence in Gaza, which subsided in recent weeks following earlier clashes that left 130 PA Arabs dead.
Hamas and Fatah released statements blaming each other for the renewed deaths, but implying that the violence was localized to two rival clans and not a renewed battle between factions. Several members of Hamas have complained, however, that the Karuah family is receiving backup from the Fatah movement. Local sources claim that the PA Security Forces did not act to stop the battle.
A bomb went off in front of the home of a senior Fatah chief of the PA police in central Gaza, injuring his family members. No further details were reported.