An act of sabotage failed early yesterday afternoon when a mortar shell attached to a detonation device proved to be a dud. The 52-mm. shell and device was placed in a Netanya park that was crowded with mothers and their children as well as by elderly people and tourists. Shortly after noontime the device was activated and exploded but failed to trigger the explosion of the shell. Aside from a loud noise there was no other effect. Netanya, which is close to the West Bank town of Tulkarem, is frequently visited by Arabs from the West Bank. Police rounded up some 50 Arabs for questioning.
In another incident shortly after midnight Saturday in Rishon le Zion, an explosive charge went off prematurely and injured three Arab terrorists from Gaza who were riding in a taxi toward Tel Aviv from the Gaza Strip. The three were carrying the home-made explosive device in the taxi and were driving through the main street in Rishon le Zion when it exploded. The driver lost control of the cab and it crashed into a station wagon. A passerby succeeded in nabbing two terrorists but the third escaped. He brought them to the police station and from there to the hospital where they were treated for burns.
Police set up a roadblock and trapped the third occupant. He was on his way back to Gaza but police noticed his burns and he was arrested. Police questioned the trio and more arrests of Gaza Strip terrorists are expected.
Today, however, saboteurs were successful in knocking out the central telephone exchange of Ramallah on the West Bank, according to reports. The wiring of 1200 pairs of cables which provide the town with telephone service and connection with the rest of the West Bank and Israel were burned out after someone entered the exchange building and set fire to the cables. Police are searching for the arsonist.
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.
