Arab terrorists from Gaza successfully crossed over the Gaza security wall, causing nearby Jewish towns to be put under curfew until the armed men were killed.Sunday morning, 12 more infiltrators were caught - though young and unarmed. At least one of the three terrorists who infiltrated Daturday was a member of Fatah; all were wearing IDF uniforms and were heavily armed. The three took advantage of heavy fog to use a rope and ladder to cross the much-touted security fence, which is being replicated in Judea and Samaria due to its purported effectiveness. To date dozens of Arab terrorists have crossed under the fence, through tunnels, including the terrorists who kidnapped Cpl. Gilad Shalit last year at Kerem Shalom. IDF Golani Brigade soldiers spotted the men and engaged two of them, killing them both. One IDF soldier was lightly injured in the fighting. Local Jewish residents of the western Negev towns of Netiv HaAsara, Nahal Oz and Yad Mordechai spent Sabbath morning locked in their homes due to the infiltration. Golani soldiers then combed the Gaza side of the fence, killing two other Arab terrorists in a shootout. It was reported that two men who had been manning an escape vehicle were arrested. It is unclear whether the men were Israeli-Arabs or PA Arabs that infiltrated earlier and returned to the area with a vehicle. ‘Sophisticated’ Rope and Ladder Northern Gaza Region IDF Commander Gen. Moni Katz told Yediot Acharonot that the terrorists had managed to get past the security fence using a “sophisticated device” and were on their way to a vehicle driven by two other terrorists, who escaped back into Gaza during the gunfight. Katz did not elaborate on the nature of the device that allowed the terrorists to enter through the fence. It has been speculated that the means by which the terrorists breached the wall were not at all sophisticated, consisting of ropes, pulleys and ladders, according to photos published in the major newspapers Sunday. But due to the government’s heavy investment in the construction of an identical fence across Judea and Samaria the facts are being kept under wraps. Katz said the men were armed with assault rifles, several clips of ammunition, hand grenades and bulletproof vests. He admitted that due to the weather and the terrorists’ method of crossing over the fence, “Until the moment they opened fire we did not know it was an infiltration.” Fatah and Hamas? Army Radio reported that the attempted attack was sponsored by Hamas to cause the Erez Crossing to be closed, to sabotage the exit from Gaza of a number of Fatah-affiliated university students. The Popular Resistance Committee, a joint Hizbullah-style group made up of members of Hamas, Fatah and Islamic Jihad, said its members carried out the infiltration. At least one Fatah terrorist was involved in the attack, though he was reported to have escaped back to Gaza. Islamic Jihad Terrorist Killed Border Police killed an Islamic Jihad terrorist attempting to carry out a suicide bombing and arrested two others near PA-controlled Tul Karem Saturday. The name of the dead terrorist was Tarek Melahem. Zadik Ouda, a senior Islamic Jihad terrorist, opened fire at the soldiers, who returned fire, wounding him. He was apprehended and arrested. A border police officer was wounded during the fighting. In Jenin, IDF soldiers and Border Police killed another senior Islamic Jihad terrorist, Ala Abu al-Said and his deputy Mustafa Atik Saturday. A third, unnamed terrorist was also killed in the gun battle.
