Last update - 00:00 08/10/2006
IDF shoots three Egyptians suspected of smuggling contraband into Israel
By Revital Levy-Stein, Haaretz Correspondent
Israel Defense Forces soldiers shot and wounded three Egyptians suspected of smuggling cargo over the Israel-Egypt border on Sunday night.
Paramedics rushed the three, suffering from light to moderate wounds, to Yoseftal Medical Center in Eilat. An IDF unit operating along the border spotted the three and ordered them to halt. When they refused, the soldiers opened fire, wounding them in the legs.
Security forces who examined the area found two bags containing 28 kilograms of hashish, which the three were allegedly trying to bring into Israel.
An IDF spokeswoman said the smugglers' border crossing "bared a certain resemblance to a terror infiltration," saying that the smugglers, like terrorists attempting to enter the country, covered their tracks thoroughly.
The spokeswoman said this is further proof that criminal activity and terror operations are linked and that one is built on the foundations of the other.
She said that the soldiers' shooting was highly accurate and that anyone who is spotted attempting to cross the border illegally may be subject to arrest procedures. If the suspect does not respond to soldiers' order to halt, arrest procedures end with gunfire to the legs.