IDF arrests 4 Gazans trying to cross into Israel
Army stops unarmed Palestinians in two separate incidents along the southern border
Israeli troops arrested four Palestinians Thursday who tried to enter Israel from the Gaza Strip.
The Israel Defense Forces said it stopped the four unarmed men in two separate incidents and were handed over to the Shin Bet security service for questioning.
In previous incidents where there was no violence, the military returned Gazans to the Strip.
An incident on March 8 prompted a large-scale call-up of security personnel in the border area when two Palestinians from Gaza evaded capture for an hour. The pair were eventually arrested and found to be carrying a knife and a hand grenade after infiltrating into Israel from the northern Gaza Strip.
On April 3, Israeli forces opened fire and wounded three Palestinians who entered Israel from Gaza and were carrying knives. The three were transferred to an Israeli hospital.
Last Friday, over 10,000 Palestinians participated in weekly protests and riots along the Strip’s border with Israel.
Egypt, the United Nations and Qatar have recently worked to broker ceasefire understandings between Israel and Gaza-ruling Hamas, which, if finalized, would likely see an end to violence emanating from the Strip in exchange for the Jewish state easing some of its restrictions on the movement of people and goods into and out of the coastal enclave.
Israeli officials have long held that the Jewish state’s limitations on movement aim to prevent Hamas and other terror groups from transferring weapons into Gaza.
The Times of Israel Community.