Last update - 00:00 10/06/2007
Peretz: IDF is probing militants' escape during abduction attempt
By Barak Ravid and Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents
Defense Minister Amir Peretz told the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday that the IDF is probing troops' failure to prevent militants from fleeing during an attempt by the organization to abduct soldiers along the Gaza border on Saturday.
Olmert slammed Islamic Jihad and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades use of a van with the word "TV" painted on it to carry out the attack.
"This was an attempt to take advantage of the special sensitivity in a democratic country like ours to allow the media to operate in sensitive areas," the prime minister said. "This attempt failed."
Army sources said Saturday an inquiry is needed to determine why troops did not intercept the cell that infiltrated an outpost on the border with the Gaza Strip on Saturday.
According to the sources, the failure to spot the militants in advance or later conduct a pursuit into the Gaza Strip can be classed as tactical errors.
Only the troops' preparedness successfully managed to thwart the gunmen's objective of abducting soldiers, they said.
GOC Southern Command, Major General Yoav Galant, also commended the troops' alertness, saying: "Proper readiness by the forces of the Gaza division and the right actions in the field prevented an attack, apparently a kidnap attempt."