One United Arab Republic Jet fighter was apparently shot down, and an Arab trying to infiltrate Israel from the Gaza Strip was killed, in two separate clashes announced here today by Government spokesman.
The Egyptian ship believed downed was one of the MIG-17 Jets that entered Israeli air space at dawn today. Israeli fighters rose to battle the MIGs, intercepting them northeast of Beerotayim, in the South-Central Negev. The Israelis and the Egyptians fought their battle at an altitude of about 20,000 feet. One MIG was reported by the Israelis to have been “clearly hit,” but did not come down until it was back over Egyptian territory. The second MIG seemed to have got away. The Israeli fighters returned safely to their base.
Earlier in the night, an Israeli Army border patrol spotted an Arab infiltrator about two miles inside Israel’s border. When the man was challenged, he tried to run back to the Gaza Strip frontier, and was shot down when he failed to obey orders to halt.
The area where the man was killed, south of Yad Mordechai, is the same region where, several weeks ago. an Israeli border patrol killed three Arab infiltrators. Among those three, one man was found carrying a number of documents containing intelligence about Israel defenses.
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