Early yesterday morning alert IDF soldiers prevented a catastrophe in the town of Rafiach Yam, on Israel’s Southern Mediterranean Coastal region. Two Islamic Jihad terrorists armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles and grenades managed to infiltrate the community by cutting through the electronic warning fence surrounding the town. The terrorists had started their approach towards the community’s first row of houses when the soldiers and members of the local emergency response team spotted the Arabs and a gun battle ensued. The terrorists were killed but managed to shoot and fatally wound 22-year-old IDF First-Sergeant Nitzan Avraham. Avraham, a resident of Lod, will be laid to rest this afternoon in the military section of the Lod cemetery. Three other soldiers were wounded in the incident.
In another thwarted Arab attack over the weekend, two Israeli border police volunteers early Saturday prevented a bomb attack at the Netivot Junction Northwest of Be’er Sheva. At about 4:30 AM, the unit observed occupants of a vehicle without license plates fleeing the area after placing a suspicious bag in the intersection. The bomb squad was called in to investigate and an explosive device laced with nails was found. Sappers neutralized the bomb without incident, but the assailants managed to escape.
Also over the weekend a powerful bomb planted to disrupt the main Bethlehem area water supply line was found in time to thwart the planned attack. Officials theorize that the terrorists were hoping that IDF forces operating nearby would detonate the bomb in a controlled blast and thereby temporarily stop the area’s water supply. The Arabs would then have attempted to besmirch Israel in the eyes of the international community by claiming that Israel does not provide adequate water resources. The bomb was successfully dismantled.
In another thwarted Arab attack over the weekend, two Israeli border police volunteers early Saturday prevented a bomb attack at the Netivot Junction Northwest of Be’er Sheva. At about 4:30 AM, the unit observed occupants of a vehicle without license plates fleeing the area after placing a suspicious bag in the intersection. The bomb squad was called in to investigate and an explosive device laced with nails was found. Sappers neutralized the bomb without incident, but the assailants managed to escape.
Also over the weekend a powerful bomb planted to disrupt the main Bethlehem area water supply line was found in time to thwart the planned attack. Officials theorize that the terrorists were hoping that IDF forces operating nearby would detonate the bomb in a controlled blast and thereby temporarily stop the area’s water supply. The Arabs would then have attempted to besmirch Israel in the eyes of the international community by claiming that Israel does not provide adequate water resources. The bomb was successfully dismantled.