A joint Israel-Jordan investigation has been launched in the area of the Negev north of Beersheba to track down the Jordanian shepherds who yesterday shot and killed an Israeli Army officer commanding a patrol which intercepted them inside Israel.
This is the second Jordanian murder in the area in the last two weeks. The earlier victim was an Israeli Bedouin. It is believed that the drought which has burned up grazing lands on both sides of the border in the Negev has brought increasing numbers of Arabs and their flocks into Israel territory from Jordan.
Israel authorities fear that the drought in neighboring Arab countries may cause an increase in border incidents such as the slaying yesterday of the Israel army lieutenant who was killed by Jordanians seeking pasture for their flocks in Israel’s irrigated fields. Gaza Strip Arabs are increasing trips into Israel. The Nachal Oz settlement, just opposite Gaza, has been visited frequently in recent weeks by infiltrators who are stealing whatever they can find.
Security authorities have ordered special precautionary alertness actions along the borders in order to avoid possible incidents.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
