By
Mustafa al-Sawwaf, IOL Correspondent
GAZA CITY, Sept 5 (IslamOnline) – Palestinian resistance activists
Thursday, September 05, 2002, destroyed an Israeli Merkava tank in the
southern Gaza Strip, wounding four Israeli occupation soldiers. Brigades
of Saladdin, affiliated to the Public Resistance, claimed responsibility
for the operation.
An
explosive charge was detonated near the Kissufim crossing point with
Israel, on a track used by units patrolling the security fence that
seals the narrow Gaza Strip off from the rest of the world. The
explosion directly hit the Merkava, setting it ablaze.
Israeli
ambulances rushed to the scene of the attack, took the four injured
soldiers to the hospital. Additional troops were sent in to comb the
area for the resistance activists, who carried out the successful
attack. This came amid heavy live fire towards Palestinian civilians.
Merkava
3 battle tank is the pride of the Israeli arms industry and one of the
world’s top pieces of artillery. It weighs 60 tons, equipped with
three automatic guns, a 60-mm Hawn, as well as a 120-mm gun that can hit
targets at 7 kms distance.
The
operation came only hours after Israel declared high alert status among
its troops in northern Israel after intercepting a car with 600 kgs of
explosives.
According
to Israeli daily Ha’aretz, security forces prevented a big explosive
attack, when they intercepted a car in the early hours of Thursday
filled with 600 kilograms of explosives near Pardes Hana, not far from
Hadera.
Two cars - an Isuzu van and a Golf - were captured at around 2 A.M.
after police at a roadblock ordered them to stop. But the cars continued
driving and the occupants then jumped out and fled. Police then
discovered the explosives in the van, along with two gas-filled
cannisters and a cellular phone.
Northern
police chief Ya'akov Borovsky said he believed that those planning the
attack were still inside Israel.
"This was one of the biggest (successes in) foiling an attack that
we know of," said Borovsky. "We did not have any specific
warnings, but our working assumption is that the eve of a Jewish holiday
is a time when terror attacks are likely."
Israel insists Palestinian resistance against occupation is
“terror”.
Meanwhile,
two Israeli soldiers were wounded Thursday morning, one critically,
after two activists opened fire on occupation troops in the northern
Gaza Strip, between the settlements of Dugit and Nissanit.
On
Wednesday, September 4, Israeli Prime Minister said that “the
Palestinians started to understand that peace could not be achieved
unless they stopped terrorist attacks”. He added that Israel “might
negotiate with the Palestinians once they know that terror would not
lead them anywhere”.
Political
analysts, however, said that the resistance operations, only hours after
Sharon’s statements, are meant to emphasize that the Palestinian
resistance is still.
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