JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel reportedly moved tanks near the border with Egypt following a cross-border attack in which an Israeli civilian was killed.
Israel’s move on Monday was in violation of the Camp David Accords. The tanks were later withdrawn from the area, according to Haaretz.
The terrorists who infiltrated Israel from Egypt killed an Israeli contractor during a border attack. They detonated an explosive device Monday morning near two Israeli vehicles carrying contractors who are working on the border fence between Israel and Egypt. Gunfire also was directed at the vehicles, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Three terrorists had infiltrated into Israel in a place where the border fence is not yet complete. Some terrorists remained on the Egyptian side of the border, the IDF said. The incident took place near the Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow strip of land along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
Golani Brigade soldiers who arrived at the scene within minutes of the incident opened fire on the terrorists, killing two. One of the terrorists was carrying a large explosive device that went off after he was fired upon, the IDF reported. No terrorists remain inside Israel, according to a spokesman for the IDF, Brig.-Gen Yoav Mordechai.
The attack comes a day after two long-range Grad missiles fired from the Sinai Peninsula were discovered in southern Israel.
“We see here a disturbing deterioration in Egyptian control in the Sinai,” Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Monday during a meeting with his Polish counterpart, Tomasz Siemoniak, in Tel Aviv.
“We are waiting for the results of the election. Whoever wins, we expect them to take responsibility for all of Egypt’s international commitments, including the peace treaty with Israel and the security arrangements in the Sinai, swiftly putting an end to these attacks.”
Israeli troops returned later Monday to the scene of the attack to retrieve the terrorists’ bodies, according to reports. A helmet, vest, uniforms and Kalashnikov rifles were found near the terrorists.
The Israel-Egypt border project employs 1,500 workers, according to Ynet.
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