One terrorist was killed last night in an exchange of gunfire with an Israel army patrol near Kibbutz Idmit in Western Galilee. The clash occurred at about 8 p.m. local time when the patrol noticed a suspicious movement in a hilly area and opened fire. The fire was returned but there were no Israeli casualties.
The incident increased tension in northern Israel which has been on a high security alert since last week’s tragedy at Maalot. Hundreds of soldiers and police are patrolling the region aided by helicopters. Tension is also running high in Jerusalem where police announced last night the arrest of three terrorists believed responsible for setting up Katyusha rocket launchers aimed at the heart of the city last Wednesday, the day of the Maalot massacre.
Re-enforced security measures in the capital touched off a near panic yesterday. The mobilization of additional manpower and the placing of security forces on stand-by status led to rumors that terrorists had infiltrated the city. Several school principals dismissed classes early, which further alarmed the citizenry. Mayor Teddy Kollek denounced their action as needless. He said that neither the municipality nor the Education Ministry had ordered early dismissal.
Police said the three terrorists arrested last night are also suspected of the murder of a taxi driver, Zion Abergil, whose booby-trapped body was discovered in the trunk of his cab on a downtown street last month. Only good luck and the skill of police sappers prevented a major disaster, police said. The Katyusha rockets, aimed at heavily populated areas of Jerusalem including the King David Hotel where U.S. Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger and his party are staying, were disarmed only minutes before a timing device was set to fire. The rockets had been spotted by an Arab laborer on a hill overlooking the northern area of the city.
According to police, the arrested terrorists may have been responsible for the explosion of several bazooka shells in the Musrara quarter on the night of May 14. There were no casualties or damage in that incident.
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