The remains of the vehicle used by the terrorist squad, loaded with
hundreds of kilograms of explosives (IDF Spokesman, September 6)
1. On September 6, 2007 , IDF forces thwarted yet another attempt to infiltrate Israeli territory by a joint Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Fatah squad. The thwarted attack was carried out by a squad composed of six terrorists who arrived on two cars and were discovered at a distance of some 250 meters from the border fence in the central Gaza Strip. The terrorists’ goal was to infiltrate Israeli territory in order to attack an IDF outpost situated some 10 kilometers north of Kissufim or to attack an IDF patrol. They may also have intended to abduct an IDF soldier. IDF soldiers who noticed the squad attacked it with the assistance of fire from helicopters. The six terrorists who took part in the thwarted attack were killed.
2. A series of intense explosions was heard following the attack on the vehicles, indicating that they had contained a significant amount of explosives. An examination carried out by the IDF after the incident showed that there were hundreds of kilograms of explosives inside one of the vehicles. Also found on the site of the incident were other arms and ammunition held by the terrorists.
Arms found in the terrorists’ possession. Top image: RPG launcher;
bottom image: Kalashnikov rifle (IDF Spokesman, September 6)
3. The PIJ and Fatah claimed responsibility for the attempted attack. Published on PIJ websites (Paltoday, Palmedia, September 6) were the names of five killed terrorists belonging to the PIJ and one killed terrorist belonging to Fatah.
Video footage of the six terrorists, filmed before embarking on their mission
(Saraya al-Quds website, September 10)
4. The past several months have seen an increase in the attempts to carry out terrorist attacks from the Gaza Strip, usually in the form of infiltrating Israeli territory and attempting to kill or abduct IDF soldiers. One example which can be mentioned in this context is the infiltration attempt (June 9, 2007) of a PIJ and Fatah squad, using a jeep camouflaged as a press vehicle. 1 Another thwarted terrorist attack was an attempt by a squad composed of Popular Resistance Committees, Fatah, and the Democratic Front operatives to enter the community of Netiv Haasara and kill civilians (August 25, 2007). 2
1 See our Information Bulletin dated June 11, 2007 : "A Fatah-Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist squad infiltrated Israel near the Kissufim Crossing to attack an IDF force. The terrorists, who used a jeep camouflaged as a TV vehicle, may have planned to abduct an IDF soldier, if the opportunity arose” .
2 See our Information Bulletin dated August 25, 2007 : "On the morning of August 25 two terrorist operatives infiltrated Israeli territory from the northern Gaza Strip by climbing over the security fence. They intended to carry out a killing attack at the settlement of Netiv Ha’asara north of the Gaza Strip”.
