Two Palestinians breached the security fence around Gaza on Thursday carrying a knife and wire cutters, the fourth such incident in just one week.
The Israel Defense Forces nabbed the pair and took them in for questioning, even as Israel has ramped up security on the perimeter ahead of planned protests by Gazans on Friday.
On Wednesday, an unarmed man was apprehended after breaking through the barrier in northern Gaza, near the Jewish community of Zikim.
On Tuesday, three Palestinian men armed with knives and grenades infiltrated more than 20 kilometers (12 miles) on foot into Israeli territory before they were arrested outside the Tze’elim army base. Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman called for an investigation into the security failure.
Last Saturday, four masked Palestinian men cut through the southern Gaza security fence, ran into Israeli territory and attempted to set fire to engineering equipment used to build underground barriers against Gaza terror tunnels.
The Palestinians will be recognizing “Land Day” on Friday, the anniversary of the 1976 Israeli government decision to appropriate land in the Galilee for defense purposes. The Hamas terror organization has organized a demonstration at the Gaza border for Friday under the theme “March of Return.”
Arab riots and protests are expected to continue at the border and inside Israel for six weeks until May 15, Israel’s Independence Day, which Palestinians refer to as the “Catastrophe,” or “Nakba.”
