The arrest of 20 suspects believed to be members of two sabotage rings was disclosed today. The arrests were made in the Samaria region of the West Bank. One ring of 14 Arabs was captured in northern Samaria in possession of weapons and explosives. They were believed to be operating under orders from Syria passed on to them by travelers crossing the Jordan River bridges.
The second group consisting of six members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine was centered in the West Bank town of Kalkilya and is believed by police to have been responsible for recent bombings in the area.
Three weeks of quiet on the Syrian border was broken Friday when mortar shells were fired from Syrian territory in the vicinity of Nabal Golan in the Golan Heights. The mortars exploded in a field. No casualties or damage was reported and Israeli forces withheld fire. The shells were fired in two volleys and it is believed that two terrorist groups were involved but were unaware of each other’s activities. An Israeli patrol discovered improvised bazooka shells and several mines in the area which were de-fused.
A small bomb detonated at the Nablus Labor Exchange last Friday without causing casualties or damage. Another explosive charge was discovered in the town slaughterhouse with a note attached from the PFLP. The charges were the first found in Nablus since Aug. 1971.
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