Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Hand-Holding Couple Was a Jihad Terrorist Cell

Nissan Ratzlav-Katz

The Islamic Jihad in Gaza has claimed responsibility for an unusual attempted attack Monday morning involving two terrorists misleading soldiers that they were a loving couple. When the "couple" was in proximity to the IDF position... they both drew firearms.The incident took place near the ruins of the evacuated Jewish town of Nisanit, in northern Gaza. A man and woman, residents of the Palestinian Authority, approached an army installation adjacent to the Gaza region's Erez Crossing while holding hands and pretending to be a couple out on a walk. When the "couple" was in proximity to the IDF position, however, they both drew firearms and began shooting at soldiers. IDF forces returned fire, killing both of the enemy terrorists. No Israelis were injured in the attack.

The female PA terrorist was later identified as Usma Abu Fanuna of Nuseirat, in Hamas-controlled Gaza. Soldiers found explosives on her body after the attack. Islamic Jihad spokesmen claimed Fanuna had detonated her bomb and killed herself rather than be killed by IDF soldiers.

In a second attack in the same region later in the day, PA terrorists opened fire on a group of Israeli journalists. The four journalists, working for various news agencies, were standing on a hill near the Erez Crossing when they came under attack.

"The bullets whizzed past our legs," one journalist said.

None of the journalists were hurt in the shooting, but a car they were using was hit by several bullets. IDF sources said the bullets appear to have been fired from a heavy machine gun, rather than from a standard light assault rifle commonly used by PA terrorist cells.

On Sunday, senior IDF officers criticized the PA factions for their frequent attacks on Israeli-controlled crossings into Gaza, such as that at Erez. PA attacks make it difficult for Israel to transfer food and medicine into Gaza, and sometimes delay the transfer of crucial aid, they explained.

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