Israel's army said Monday it had arrested a senior Islamic Jihad member as tensions with the group rose after the army blew up one of its tunnels from Gaza, killing several terorrists. The army arrested the "senior operative" overnight in Arraba in the Lower Galilee, Israel's military said. A source with Islamic Jihad confirmed that one of its leaders, Tareq Qadaan, was detained as part of an "arrest campaign". There were no immediate details on whether others were arrested. Later on Monday, Israeli media said the army had raised its level of alert adjacent to the border with Gaza as a precaution against possible Islamic Jihad retaliation for the tunnel blast. One army spokeswoman told AFP that an Iron Dome anti-missile battery has been deployed in central Israel, while another said that otherwise there was "nothing new." Tensions have risen between Israel and Islamic Jihad after the army blew up a tunnel that stretched from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory on October 30. Such tunnels have been used in the past to carry out attacks. The operation resulted in the deaths of at least 12 terrorists from Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday warned militants in Gaza against carrying out attacks in revenge for the operation. Islamic Jihad meanwhile threatened to hit back at Israel over the destruction of the tunnel it says it dug.
