A balloon fitted with an explosive device, launched by Palestinian terrorists, landed outside a home in Givat Ze’ev, a suburb of Jerusalem, for the first time on Monday.
Police sappers neutralized the device in the private yard of the Samaria home and transferred their findings to a laboratory for further review.
Several similar cases recently suggest that Palestinians in the West Bank may be trying to mimic a wave of recent arson attacks from Gaza and launch incendiary balloons into central Israeli cities.
On Saturday, incendiary balloons launched from Gaza sparked a fire in Shokeda Forest. Firefighters, Jewish National Fund workers and Israel Nature and Parks Authority teams worked together to extinguish the blaze.
Incendiary balloons also landed in Kibbutz Nir Am and Kibbutz Dorot, but fortunately did not cause damage.
Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council security officer Tayel Hajbi told Israel Hayom that “fortunately, there were no fires because there was early detection, and when the balloons reached the ground they were immediately extinguished.”
In the last six months, balloons and kites carrying firebombs or explosives have been regularly launched from Gaza into Israel, sparking countless fires and causing extensive damage. The Palestinian arson terrorism campaign has so far decimated nearly 10,000 acres of forest and farmlands on the Israeli side of the border, causing millions of dollars in damage to the area.
Environmental experts say it will take at least 15 years to rehabilitate the vegetation and wildlife that have been destroyed.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Monday that 11 Palestinians had been wounded by Israeli gunfire in a protest on Gaza’s beach.
Protesters on fishing boats affixed Palestinian flags to a fence that extends into the Mediterranean Sea. On land, other protesters briefly breached the frontier under the cover of smoke from flaming tires. Israeli soldiers responded with tear gas and live fire.
