Arab violence was renewed inside Israel territory near both the Syrian and Jordanian borders this weekend, leaving one Syrian soldier dead The incidents followed last week’s indefinite postponement of any further meetings of the extraordinary session of the Israel-Syrian Mixed Armistice Commission.
The Syrian soldier was killed in an exchange of fire with an Israeli pilot in the Hule area last night, after the patrol spotted the uniformed Syrian crossing into Israel from the Syrian position of Darbashiye. The armed infiltrator opened fire on the patrol when he was challenged by the Israelis some 500 years inside Israel territory. The patrol returned the fire and killed the Syrian with a hand grenade. The Syrian was armed with a Soviet-made automatic rifle.
Unlike previous instances when the Syrians suffered casualties, Syrian officials today agreed to take back the body of the dead soldier. Israel has lodged a complaint over the incident with the Israel-Syrian Mixed Armistice Commission.
In another incident, near Arad in the Negev, today, an explosive charge placed under a water pipeline leading to a Jewish National Fund experimental plantation building blew up, but without doing any damage. Footprints of two persons were found leading to the nearby Jordanian border.
The terrorists identified themselves by leaving two leaflets, one in Hebrew and one in Arabic, marked with the names, “Palestine Liberation Movement” and “Al Asifa” (the military arm of Ahmed Shukairy’s Palestine Liberation Organization).
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