A soldier of the Israel Defense Force was killed and another wounded in a clash with an armed infiltrator from Jordan south of Beit She’an late Saturday.
The soldier, a Bedouin army tracker, was identified as Sgt. Maj. Muhammed Shibli of Arab e-Shibli village in Lower Galilee.
The infiltrator, killed in an exchange of fire with an IDF patrol, wore civilian clothes and carried a Kalachnikov assault rifle and a Koran. He crossed the Jordan River near Moshav Mehola and hid in ambush.
The incident was discussed at Sunday’s Cabinet meeting. It was the third infiltration from Jordan since the Persian Gulf war started Jan. 17 and the first since then to claim the life of a soldier. Two Israeli soldiers were killed in clashes with infiltrators from Jordan last year.
Foreign Minister David Levy, who has a home in Beit She’an, said he had driven past the scene of the ambush on his way to Jerusalem less than 15 minutes before the shootout.
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