Unexploded World War I-era shell discovered at building site in central Israel

British munition said to have contained ‘active explosives’ detonated by police sappers in controlled explosion

By ToI Staff 15 November 2021, 8:18 pm

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An explosive shell dating back to World War I uncovered at a building site in Ganei Tikva in central Israel, November 15, 2021. (Israel Police)

An unexploded explosive shell dating back to World War I was uncovered Monday at a building site in Ganei Tikva in central Israel.

The shell is believed to have belonged to British forces and contained “active explosives,” police said in a statement.

Authorities closed down several streets in the area until a bomb-disposal team arrived to take care of the munition.

It was detonated by police sappers in a controlled explosion.

Military ordnance left over from various wars fought in the region occasionally turns up. There have also been incidents of munitions or equipment found that fell off Israeli military jets.

Last year, two bazooka rockets were found at Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem, the site of a fierce battle between Israeli and Jordanian forces during the 1967 Six Day War.

A handout photo from police shows an unexploded Bazooka round discovered at Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem on August 1, 2021. (Israel Police)

In 2019, an external fuel tank from a military jet washed up on an Ashdod beach, with pundits speculating it came from an Israeli plane.

In 2018, an archaeological dig found a 100-year-old shell in the coastal city of Jaffa, and during the restoration of the Jaffa railway station in 2007, around 80 rifles of various kinds were found, some dating back to the British Mandate era of 1920-1948.