Police investigate balloon carrying Palestinian flag found in north
Sappers find no other devices attached to object which comes to rest in Moshav Mle’a, a cooperative agricultural community
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Israel Police said Tuesday that officers were called to Moshav Mle’a in the north of the country, after a balloon was found with a Palestinian flag attached to it.
Police sappers dealt with the balloon, and aside from the flag, no other objects were found connected to it, police said in a statement.
During months of protests along the Israeli-Gazan borderm, which began at the end of March, Palestinians have launched thousands of balloons and kites carrying incendiaries into Israel, burning thousands of acres of land and causing millions of shekels in damage.
There have been several incidents of balloons found in other areas of the country, believed to be a result of Palestinian protesters in the West Bank copying the method.
Mle’a is a cooperative agricultural community located in the Ta’anakh region of the country, a few kilometers north of the West Bank.
Police called on the public to show caution regarding any such items, whether balloons or kites, which may be carrying incendiary of explosives.
The Gaza protests, dubbed the “Great March of Return,” mostly involved the burning of tires and rock-throwing along the security fence, but have also seen shooting attacks, bombings and attempted border breaches as well as the sending of incendiary balloons and kites into Israel.
Last week saw a serious flare-up during which Palestinians in Gaza fired over 460 rockets at southern Israel drawing retaliatory airstrikes from Israel.
The Times of Israel Community.