‘Significant Damage’ in Gaza Border Fire, Officials Say

A forest fire again burned along the Gaza border Monday night, as Gaza Arabs dispatched balloons with flammable materials attached into Israel. Firefighters spent several hours trying to douse the flames at a farm in the area of Nachal Oz. Local officials said that the fire had caused “a great deal of damage,” Channel 20 reported

Police overnight Monday seized a large number of weapons in the Israeli Arab town of Umm el-Faham. Among the weapons seized were M-16 rifles, Kalachnikovs, and homemade rifles and handguns, along with a large amount of ammunition. Also seized were night vision goggles, directional guidance equipment, binoculars, and other items. Police said that the seizure of the cache was “a significant step in the ongoing war of the Israel Police against organized crime and violence. Beyond the criminal aspects, this was an action that will save the lives of innocent civilians.”

Also Monday night, IDF soldiers seized weapons that were to be used in terror attacks. Soldiers, working with police, discovered a cache of weapons in Shechem. Several suspects were arrested and the cache confiscated. In a statement, police said that such weapons were often used in terror attacks, and that security forces were determined to seize all weapons that were being held illegally by all people, in order to better protect all Israelis and residents of Palestinian Authority-controlled areas, who are also under threat by terrorists and criminals.

Overnight Monday, security officials said they arrested 22 wanted security suspects in other areas in Yehudah and Shomron. The suspects were wanted for participating in rioting and throwing stones and firebombs that endangered Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers. Several of the suspects were also charged with belonging to Hamas. All were being questioned on their activities by security forces.