IDF detains man who crossed from Gaza into Israel
Soldiers capture infiltrator near border fence; authorities say he does not appear to pose a security threat
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Israeli soldiers on Saturday arrested a man who infiltrated Israel from the Gaza Strip. He was taken in for questioning.
The suspect was caught shortly after crossing the security fence, officials said. He was unarmed, and the army believed he had no terror-related intentions.
On Friday afternoon another man was identified crossing the fence from Israel into Gaza along its northern border.
IDF officials said the man was apparently a former resident of the coastal enclave who had entered Israel as part of a family unification process allowed by the government several years ago.
IDF troops were scrambled to the scene, but by the time they arrived the man had already crossed to the other side of the fence.
According to a report on the Haaretz website, soldiers in military observation posts identified a person likely belonging to the Hamas terror group picking up the man. The army assessed that he was now being interrogated by the terror group.
An IDF officer told Haaretz that it did not appear to be a planned encounter and Hamas was likely not expecting the man to cross the border.
The Shin Bet security service is expected to interrogate the man’s family to try to understand why he decided to cross back into the Gaza Strip.
“The crosser was found out only a minute or two before crossing to the other side. By the time forces arrived on the scene he was already in Gaza territory,” a senior IDF official told military reporters. “The IDF has no way of preventing someone who has decided to cross into Gaza from going there.”
According to the Ynet news website, the man had been living in Israel for the past five years.
Family reunification in Israel typically involves an Israeli citizen requesting citizenship for his or her non-Israeli spouse. Most unification applications are submitted by Israeli Arabs on behalf of a Palestinian spouse living in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip.
The process of family reunification for Palestinians has been made more stringent in recent years due to concerns it was being abused by terror groups to gain access to Israel.
The Times of Israel Community.