Two Who Infiltrated from Egypt Say Arafat Knew of Their Mission

Israeli troops captured two members of the Islamic Jihad group trying to infiltrate from Egypt in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

The terrorists, who threw grenades at an Israel Defense Force base near Rafah, at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, told interrogators they had been sent on their mission with the personal knowledge of Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasir Arafat.

The two, aged 15 and 17, crossed the border shortly after midnight Tuesday, apparently without the knowledge Egyptian officials.

When explosions were heard near the IDF camp, patrols went out, quickly discovered the two young men and fired at them, wounding them lightly. The teen-agers then surrendered.

There were no Israeli casualties.

News of the incident was not reported until after Israel handed over the Taba resort to Egypt at noon Wednesday. Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin said the infiltration attempt had nothing to do with the return of Taba.

But he said it proved that terrorism is not confined to the northern border. Israeli troops in recent weeks have intercepted a number of terrorists attempting to infiltrate from Lebanon.

Gen. Yitzhak Mordechai, commander of the southern front, said the captured men told their interrogators that they had been sent on their mission with orders to attack Israeli soldiers or civilians and if possible to take hostages.

They said the orders were given with the express knowledge of Arafat, to whom they referred by his code-name, “Abu Amar.” They claimed to be members of Islamic Jihad, a Moslem extremist group that has been active in Lebanon.

The terrorists said they had been promised a $20,000 reward for every Israeli they shot dead or brought back alive. They were equipped with Karl Gustav submachine guns, Kalachnikov assault rifles, extra magazines and assault grenades.