The first incident occurred last night when an IDF paratroopers reserve force sighted an armed terrorist crawling towards Netzarim, north of Gush Katif. An armored force in the area opened fire and killed him. His body was found this morning, wearing a PA uniform and holding a Kalachnikov rifle and an axe.
The other incident occurred early yesterday morning near Netzarim, when an IDF force identified a terrorist crawling near a road in order to place a remote-controlled bomb there, only a few hundred meters from the army outpost. The battalion commander radioed the tank, "Open fire on the terrorist!" - but the tank commander refused. The latter first said that he didn't see him, then said he only saw half of him. In response to an exasperated command to fire "even if you only see half of him," he calmly answered that there was a house nearby that he was afraid he would hit. When told that the house was far from the target, he did not answer further radio calls to open fire. The terrorist escaped, the Netzarim road was closed for several hours, and the bomb was finally found and safely detonated.
The entire nerve-racking exchange, taped by army commanders, took a half-hour. The army is investigating.
In the past 24 hours, terrorists have fired at least 20 mortar shells at Jewish communities in Gaza. The shells exploded in N'vei Dekalim, Netzarim, Kfar Darom, and northern Gaza. Gaza Coast Regional Council officials are bitter, saying that the army is not even responding to direct hits such as the one yesterday on the N'vei Dekalim industrial zone. "It is therefore no wonder," they say, "that the tank commander reacted as he did yesterday morning and allowed the terrorist to get away."
It was further noted that when the community of Netzer Hazani was bombarded with shells several nights in a row recently, the army knew exactly which house the firing was coming from, but refused to take action, "for fear of hitting 'innocent civilians.' It is this thinking that leads soldiers to refrain from taking offensive action to protect our lives."
The other incident occurred early yesterday morning near Netzarim, when an IDF force identified a terrorist crawling near a road in order to place a remote-controlled bomb there, only a few hundred meters from the army outpost. The battalion commander radioed the tank, "Open fire on the terrorist!" - but the tank commander refused. The latter first said that he didn't see him, then said he only saw half of him. In response to an exasperated command to fire "even if you only see half of him," he calmly answered that there was a house nearby that he was afraid he would hit. When told that the house was far from the target, he did not answer further radio calls to open fire. The terrorist escaped, the Netzarim road was closed for several hours, and the bomb was finally found and safely detonated.
The entire nerve-racking exchange, taped by army commanders, took a half-hour. The army is investigating.
In the past 24 hours, terrorists have fired at least 20 mortar shells at Jewish communities in Gaza. The shells exploded in N'vei Dekalim, Netzarim, Kfar Darom, and northern Gaza. Gaza Coast Regional Council officials are bitter, saying that the army is not even responding to direct hits such as the one yesterday on the N'vei Dekalim industrial zone. "It is therefore no wonder," they say, "that the tank commander reacted as he did yesterday morning and allowed the terrorist to get away."
It was further noted that when the community of Netzer Hazani was bombarded with shells several nights in a row recently, the army knew exactly which house the firing was coming from, but refused to take action, "for fear of hitting 'innocent civilians.' It is this thinking that leads soldiers to refrain from taking offensive action to protect our lives."