Three terrorists, two of whom were wearing Israel Defense Force uniforms, were killed in two separate clashes with the IDF during the weekend. An IDF lieutenant was slightly wounded during the first assault, though he continued on with the chase of a group trying to infiltrate into Israel.
In the second of the two incidents, early Sunday morning, a patrol inside the security zone in south Lebanon came across a terrorist at the northern edge of the western sector of the zone. An exchange of gunfire ensued and the terrorist was killed. He was found to have been in possession of a Soviet-made 82-mm. mortar, mortar bombs and two Kalachnikov rifles.
The first incident occurred early Saturday morning when a routine patrol along the northern border noticed a breach in the electronic security fence. As the IDF soldiers began tracking the infiltrators, grenades were thrown at them and a chase ensued across the border, inside the security belt. Fire was directed at the source of the grenade-throwers.
GANG SOUGHT TO TAKE HOSTAGES
A subsequent search disclosed the bodies of the two terrorists, dressed in IDF uniforms and carrying Israeli weapons. A knitted skullcap was found in the pocket of one of the terrorists, and a pamphlet indicating that the gang had sought to take hostages in an Israeli settlement and hold them for ransom against the freeing of terrorists held in Israeli prisons.
In Beirut, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine apparently thought their attack had been successful and told foreign news agencies there that their two-man troop had fought a seven-hour battle with the IDF and was holding hostages.
The incident took place near the border kibbutz of Zarit, which had been on a sit-in strike for the past week, with its members handing in their weapons to the central armory and welding shut the village gates, in protest against what they claimed is the failure of the Agriculture Ministry to help solve their present economic plight.
However, when the area was alerted at the start of the infiltration, the villagers rushed for their weapons and stood guard. But on Sunday morning, the kibbutz members resumed their protest and were joined by four other nearby border villages who also complained of government inaction to aid their financial, agricultural and economic situation.
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.
