Jordan Valley Settlement Repulses Terrorist Attack; One Killed, Hunt Three Others

A manhunt is underway for the three surviving terrorists of a gang of four that attacked Meholah, a religious settlement in the Jordan Valley, early this morning. None of the settlers was hurt and no damage was reported. One terrorist was shot to death by a settler, Itzik Kleinman, 28, who fired a rifle from a second floor window. The dead man was carrying a Kalachnikov automatic rifle, hand grenades and an EI Fatah flag. He wore a green uniform and commando shoes.

The other terrorists escaped in the dark. Army units called to the scene were attempting to pick up their trail. Defense Minister Ezer Weizman and Chief of Staff Gen. Rafael Eitan were at the scene before dawn.

Security sources said the attack indicated that the terrorists are seeking a new area for their activities since the Lebanese border has been blocked. They may have set out on their mission from Syria and passed through Jordan without the knowledge of the authorities but possibly with the assistance of the local population, the sources said. Another possibility was that the gang penetrated the area several days ago and emerged from hideouts in the Samaria region to carry out this morning’s attack.

FIRST ATTEMPT ON WEST BANK SINCE AUGUST

The last attempted penetration of the West Bank by terrorists from Jordan occurred last August. Two terrorists were killed and three were captured near Ashdod Yaacov. Meholah was founded 10 years ago as a Nahal (para-military) settlement, the first in the Jordan Valley after the Six-Day War. Later it became a civilian settlement of the Orthodox Hapoel Hamizrachi movement. Members cultivate vegetables and raise turkeys. Meholah is located on the northern fringes of the Samaria region of the West Bank, about four kilometers west of the Jordan River and 15 kilometers south of the Israeli town of Beisan.

The attack occurred at about 2 a.m. local time when the terrorists penetrated the settlement’s perimeter fences and assaulted the nearest house which was unoccupied. They were spotted almost immediately by security guards and fired wildly with automatic weapons. The commotion awoke the rest of the settlement. Women and children were sent to shelters and the men took arms and joined the battle. But the terrorists retreated into the dark, leaving behind one dead man and an EI Fatah flag at the point where they broke through the perimeter fence.

(An EI Fatah spokesman in Beirut said at noon today that the raid was carried out by members of the Abu Ali Ayad unit of Fatah. He said they reached Meholah via Jordan without the knowledge of the authorities in Amman. Abi Ali Ayad was a terrorist commander killed by Jordanian forces in 1971.)