One Israeli soldier was killed and three injured in a shooting attack Tuesday morning near the Jordanian border, in an area not far from the northern Israeli town of Beit She'an.
There were heavy exchanges of fire in the area between Israeli troops and a group of armed assailants that are believed to have crossed the border from Jordan and carried out the attack. There are also unconfirmed reports that Israeli forces had crossed into Jordan in pursuit of the gunmen.
The attacks began around 7 A.M. (local time) when a military vehicle was attacked near the Israeli settlement Bet Yosef. One soldier in the vehicle was seriesouly injured and was evacuated by helicopter to hospital. A second soldier injured and was reported to have sustained light wounds.
This is the first incident of its kind on Israel's border with Jordan in more than a year. According to initial reports, the Israeli army is investigating the incident, and has closed all roads in the area, including the Jordan Valley road. There are also reports that the Jordanian army is looking into the consequences of the incident.
Jordanian Reaction
Jordan on Tuesday denied any involvement in the shooting incident. "There has been no exchange of fire across the (Jordan) river at all," government spokesman Saleh Kallab told AFP. "No Israeli military force entered Jordanian territory on a search operation, that is not true at all," Kallab said.
Israeli Raid Near Jenin
Meanwhile, occupation troops arrested several Hamas and Islamic Jihad activists in a raid Monday night in the village of Tamun, near the West Bank city of Jenin, said Palestinian sources. According to an announcement by the Israeli army, among those arrested, two were Hamas activists who were involved in planning and carrying out guerrilla attacks in the areas of Jenin and Nablus.
(Albawaba.com)
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