Explosives planted by saboteurs damaged the fuel storage tank at a water pumping station south of Kibbutz Maoz Chaim in the Beisan Valley last night. The footprints of four persons were found leading to the banks of the Jordan River about 85 feet away. It was the third major sabotage attempt this weekend. Six members of an El Fatah terrorist unit were killed, and a number arrested, Friday, in a combined action by Army security forces and border police near Nablus. in the occupied West Bank.
The army spokesman, reporting on the action, said today that the marauders were discovered in a cave near an Arab village. The Israeli forces had to storm the hill in which the cave was located to engage the terrorists. A substantial quantity of Soviet and Chinese-made weapons and ammunition were found in the cave, including five Kalachinikov assault rifles, a Chinese submachine gun, a bazooka, demolition equipment and ammunition. Several more El Fatah members were arrested after the action.
A few hours later, watchmen of Kibbutz Neveh Eitan, in the Beisan Valley, foiled a planned attack by El Fatah terrorists. Watchmen observed around midnight suspicious persons moving into the kibbutz perimeter. When the intruders ignored a challenge, the watchmen opened fire on the intruders, who turned and began a retreat while shooting back. They headed for the Jordan River, about two miles away.
Alerted by the shooting, kibbutz members scrambled from their beds, hastened to grape weapons and gave pursuit, some still in underwear or pajamas. The intruders, covered by the terrain, managed to escape. When the kibbutz members returned, they made a search for explosives and found seven charges placed under a number of kibbutz dwellings. The explosives were dismantled.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
