Deputy Prime Minister Yigal Allon responded last night to urgings from abroad for restraint in dealing with the Lebanese guerrilla situation by affirming that Israel could not jeopardize its security despite the relations between Lebanon and the United States and France. He said in a radio interview that the Lebanese authorities had to take effective measures to curb terrorist activities from bases on Lebanese territory. He expressed confidence that the world, and especially Israel’s friends, would understand that Israel could not remain inactive when her security was threatened.
The deputy premier said that the Israeli strike against the Lebanese village of Aita es Shab early Saturday should be taken as a warning by the Lebanese Government that Israel’s warnings were not idle words. Gen. Allon referred to the attack by a small infantry unit on the village 24 hours after an Israeli soldier had been killed in an ambush and three others wounded near Shetula, directly opposite Aita es Shab. The raiding party warned the villagers not to resist and to remain in their homes. Five buildings which had been used by the terrorists were blown up. An Arab sniper who opened fire on the Israelis was killed. The suspected terrorists were taken prisoner and brought back to Israel for interrogation.
ISRAELI SOLDIER INJURED BY MINE; FIVE ARAB TERRORISTS KILLED IN WEEKEND FIGHTING
An Israeli soldier was injured Sunday morning when an anti-vehicle mine was detonated under an Israeli Army car near Shomrat in the Upper Galilee near the Lebanese border. Earlier in the day, a water culvert in the same area was damaged by explosives. Five Arab terrorists were killed, Saturday when they crossed the frontier from Lebanon on a sabotage mission and were intercepted near Zarit by an Israeli Army patrol. The khaki-clad guerrillas, wearing commando-style rubber boots, carried four Russian-made Katyusha automatic assault rifles and a bazooka, A heating up of terrorist activities along the Jordan River resulted in a series of clashes between Israeli patrols and the terrorists. The settlement of Maoz Chaim in the Beisan Valley came under fire from Jordanian territory Friday and its residents took to the air raid shelter last night when the terrorists opened up a mortar attack on the settlement. It was the first time the settlers had gone to the shelters in two months. There was no damage and Israeli patrols returned the fire.
Israeli patrols came under attack yesterday near Maoz Chaim and Tiryat Zvi and an Israeli position in the Golan Heights was subjected to mortar and bazooka fire. No casualties were reported. On the Suez Canal front, Israel claimed the downing of two MIG-21 interceptors in a dogfight over Dumiat Friday when the Egyptians sought to intercept an Israeli air reconnaissance mission. Both of the Egyptian fighters were shot down by cannon fire from the Israeli planes, all of which returned safely. Persistent mortar and artillery exchanges were recorded along the Suez Canal sector all through the weekend. Six Israeli soldiers were wounded.
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.
