While Israel is keeping a watchful eye on the heavy troop concentrations by Syria and Egypt behind the disengagement lines, the Jordanian front is emerging as a focal point of renewed terrorist activity after three years of quiet.
Early this morning, terrorists on the east bank of the Jordan River opened fire on an Israeli patrol near Neveh Urr in the Beisan Valley. The fire was returned. No Israeli casualties were reported. Israeli security circles believe the terrorists were part of a gang that infiltrated into Jordan from Syria and managed to evade Jordanian troops. Last week, Jordanian forces intercepted a terrorist gang on its way back to Syria, killed its leader and wounded another man.
These incidents were the latest indication that Palestinian terrorists were once more seeking to use Jordanian territory as a staging area for incursions into Israel. It was disclosed here Friday that Israeli forces captured a gang of four terrorists shortly after they had crossed the Jordan River north of Jericho.
The four men, displayed on television, admitted that they had entered Jordan from Syria and spent 18 hours dodging Jordanian army patrols. They crossed into Israel under cover of darkness and hid out in a cave but were detected and surrounded by Israeli forces. The four surrendered yielding four Kalachnikof rifles, a Russian-made pistol, ammunition, wire cutters and sabotage equipment.
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