Israeli security officials claimed today that they had prevented a terrorist massacre of civilians in the Galilee mountain resort of Safad when they captured three armed Arab infiltrators from Lebanon yesterday. They said that Shehada Ahmed Mustafa, leader of the group, confessed that their orders were to open fire indiscriminately and kill as many people as possible.
According to the Israelis, Mustafa, 32, said the massacre was to have taken place last night and that the targets were the Safad bus station, a gasoline station and a local restaurant. The Israelis said he also told them that Lebanese civilian and military authorities had full knowledge of the existence of the terrorist base at Rashidiyeh from where the three embarked on their mission, and that the Lebanese authorities were fully aware of what went on at the various terrorist bases and headquarters in Lebanon.
The gang gave up without a fight after they were spotted early yesterday morning crossing the border from Lebanon and were tracked down and finally cornered by an Israeli patrol in a dry river bed leading to Safad. One of them was identified as an Israeli Arab from Dir Hanna village in Galilee who fled to Lebanon seven months ago because he was in trouble with the police. He was said to have persuaded his companions to surrender after the first warning shots were fired because the Israelis “don’t kill.”
According to security sources the three Arabs were carrying Kalachnikoff assault rifles with several magazines apiece, nine hand grenades, barbed wire cutters, food and water for several days and El Fatah membership cards.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
