Brig. Gen. Shlomo Gazit defended Israel’s open bridges policy noting that the 150,000 Arab visitors who crossed the Jordan River bridges this year were not responsible for acts of terrorism which have admittedly increased somewhat during the past few months. He attributed recent minor acts of sabotage to local terrorists who were spurred on by terrorist acts in Europe. According to Gazit, coordinator of activities in the administered areas, none of the summer visitors were known to have tried to smuggle arms or ammunition across the bridges. He said several suspects were detained, largely for attempting to re-establish contacts with terrorists or to set up new cells. But none of the suspects were found to have engaged in sabotage, Gazit added.
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.
