Israel Defense Forces shot and killed an Arab sniper between Arad and Hevron Monday morning. None of the soldiers was wounded.
The incident is still under investigation, and the sniper may also have been an illegal worker. IDF spokesmen confirmed that the Arab fired on an army patrol in the area of the Judean Desert, several miles north of Arad and approximately one mile southeast of the Jewish community of Beit Yatir in the southern Hevron hills.
The location of the shooting was identified as Tel Adasha, a relatively barren area where Bedouins have squatted.
The IDF frequently patrols the area, which extends northward to a separation barrier crossing, and previously has caught drug and weapons smugglers.
Last year, two Arab terrorists from Hevron passed through or around the crossing on their way to Dimona, where they carried out a suicide bombing that killed two Israelis.
The security barrier in the area is only three-sided, with the eastern flank entirely open between the southern Hevron Hills and the Dead Sea.