Fatal firefight on Egyptian border
THERE was tragedy and panic on Israel’s southern border this week, after terrorists crossed from Egypt to launch attacks, killing a father of four.
Said Phashpashe, an Israeli-Arab from Haifa, was a subcontractor working on the fence that Israel’s Ministry of Defence is building along the Egyptian border.
On Monday morning, a cell of terrorists crossed the border, planted a roadside bomb, and exchanged fire with Israeli soldiers. They killed Phashpashe, 36, who was in a jeep on his way to the fence – though it is still unclear whether the bomb or the shooting proved fatal.
In the preceding 48 hours, two rockets, presumed to have been launched by militants, were found in Israel, and in the following 36 hours at least 10 more rockets hit Israel. While in recent months Hamas has not taken responsibility for rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, which it controls, on Tuesday it took responsibility for at least three of the rockets.
During Monday’s attack, Israeli forces killed two of the terrorists who entered Israel, but fearing that one or two more were on the loose, sealed off several nearby towns and villages to protect residents, only reopening them towards the end of the day. “All day we were looking for a third or fourth terrorist who may have been successful entering Israel,” senior military spokesperson Arye Shalicar told The AJN.
He said that Israel concluded that they probably returned to Egypt. “The alert level was lowered but the army is still very present there because it could happen again,” said Shalicar.
Tal Hermoni, commander of the Southern Brigade of the IDF’s Gaza Division, praised the response of the soldiers who arrived on the scene, saying that the “outcome could have been much more serious and a large-scale attack was averted”.
Defence officials believe the attack was an attempt to derail the completion of the border fence, scheduled for the end of the year. “The terrorists’ aim was to stop the construction of the fence, but our job is to finish it as quickly as possible in order to prevent terrorists from infiltrating into Israeli territory in the future,” said Defence Ministry director-general Udi Shani.
PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack would not discourage Israel from working on the fence. “This will not stop us,” he said, adding that even though it is not yet complete, it is preventing “a flood of terrorism”.
NATHAN JEFFAY
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