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Drivers wait outside their vehicles on Israel's major highway, Road 6, as police roadblocks implemented to catch 2 Gazans caused huge traffic jams Friday. (Nir Keidar/Haaretz)
Last update - 15:44 04/08/2007
IDF to conduct inquiry into infiltration by Palestinians across Gaza border with Israel
By Amos Harel and Roni Singer-Heruti, Haaretz Correspondents and Reuters

The Israel Defense Forces Gaza Division will conduct an inquiry in the coming days in order to determine how two Palestinians managed to infiltrate Israel from the Gaza Strip on Friday.

The IDF was late in realizing that the Palestinians had successfully crossed the fence near Kibbutz Meflasim along the northern Gaza Strip after a delay, and was therefore unable to capture the two.

After crossing the border, they boarded a commercial vehicle that awaited them on the Israeli side of the fence, traveling northward before being eventually captured by police in the Israeli Arab town of Tira.

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The Palestinians apparently infiltrated Israel in order to seek employment, not to carry out a terrorist attack. Police continued to search the Tel Aviv area in an effort to find the driver of the two, and brought one man in for questioning in Bat Yam.

Although security officials believed the infiltration was non-terrorist in nature, police nonetheless conducted the type of search operation generally reserved for cases of terrorist infiltration.

Police declared a high alert, and conducted extensive searches in the area between Gadera and Rehovot, causing severe traffic jams. The searches were refocused on Route 6 in the Petah Tikva and Kafr Qasem area, before being redirected to the Tira and Taibeh area on the basis of pinpoint intelligence information. Police also conducted separate searches in the area of Bat Yam and Jaffa, south of Tel Aviv.

Police also prepared to block the possible entry of the Palestinians into Tel Aviv, and placed roadblocks at the entrances to cities in Israel's north.

"The central command region is on high alert after two [Palestinians] ... crossed into Israel from the ... Gaza Strip," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

Following the Gazans' capture, the high alert was canceled and all roadblocks were removed.

Since the IDF withdrew from the Gaza Strip in September 2005, there have been only a few isolated cases in which Palestinians successfully infiltrated Israel. Most infiltrators were captured near the border.

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  1.   We Need To Return To OUR Gaza 18:39  |  Yishai Kohen 03/08/07
  2.   They just want to check 18:41  |  John 03/08/07
  3.   intruders & intent. 18:47  |  curious 03/08/07
  4.   to curious 19:02  |  Tamir Palestine 03/08/07
  5.   More power to you Palestinians,more of you should come in and 19:08  |  lakshmi 03/08/07
  6.   Gaza is the World`s Largest Prison 19:10  |  Joe 03/08/07
  7.   #2 19:14  |  Franko 03/08/07
  8.   #1 YK. NEVER been YOURS and will NEVER BE. 19:22  |  Gazani 03/08/07
  9.   #2 John of netherland. 19:29  |  Tommy 03/08/07
  10.   To "curious" 19:29  |  Henrik 03/08/07
  11.   and Dutch wonders why the Palestinians are fenced up... 19:52  |  Richard S 03/08/07
  12.   John 19:58  |  Greg 03/08/07
  13.   To Tommy in Bethlehem 20:06  |  John 03/08/07
  14.   Free Markets are the Best Path to Prosperity 20:07  |  Ari 03/08/07
  15.   Joe: you dream in technicolour. 2 states sol`n=2 states 20:09  |  Richard S 03/08/07
  16.   4Tamir 20:10  |  curious 03/08/07
  17.   #5 Joe - USA 20:12  |  * BEN JABO 03/08/07
  18.   #8 TOMMY 20:14  |  * BEN JABO 03/08/07
  19.   Henrik`s 10,000 Terrorists in Gaza 20:23  |  Rasputin 03/08/07
  20.   Joe 20:25  |  Nerys 03/08/07
  21.   Henrik 20:27  |  LLYR 03/08/07
  22.   9 Henrik. I wholheartedly believe you are correct at 99%. 20:29  |  curious 03/08/07
  23.   2~ 20:29  |  LLYR 03/08/07
  24.   Dear Gazan, which part of your land is occupied? 20:29  |  Massoud Levy 03/08/07
  25.   Expulsion won`t happen Yishai 20:31  |  Ricardo 03/08/07
  26.   Carry On you two Palestinians!More of you should go and reclaim 20:32  |  lakshmi 03/08/07
  27.   Lakhsmi 20:41  |  Nerys 03/08/07
  28.   Gazan 20:43  |  Nerys 03/08/07
  29.   warsaw ghetto escape 20:43  |  mehmet 03/08/07
  30.   Getto 20:49  |  Realistic Arab 03/08/07
  31.   Definitely an existential threat 20:54  |  Heinz 03/08/07
  32.   Yishai Kohen you are a retard 21:00  |  Avi Latberg 03/08/07
  33.   arab: stop tossing around the word "ghetto". 21:02  |  Richard S 03/08/07
  34.   No! Dear you Massoud Levy 21:04  |  Tamir Palestine 03/08/07
  35.   Caught 21:04  |  Nerys 03/08/07
  36.   Joe#6 - Israel is not obligated 21:12  |  William 03/08/07
  37.   Gazani#8 - even Hamas admitted it was Jewish land 21:15  |  William 03/08/07
  38.   Lakshmi - considered the new rulers of Gaza 21:19  |  William 03/08/07
  39.   BEN JABO 21:21  |  sam 03/08/07
  40.   Joe: Let them in and blow themselves up? 21:25  |  Yitzhak 03/08/07
  41.   Disgrace 21:30  |  Robert 03/08/07
  42.   Isn?t it funny? 21:34  |  KUTW 03/08/07
  43.   29.29. mehmet: How can you compare the European jews to jihadis 21:40  |  KUTW 03/08/07
  44.   #9 Tommy - And what with... 21:50  |  Gabriel 03/08/07
  45.   # 33 Dick 21:55  |  Realistic Arab 03/08/07
  46.   Tamir Palestine 34 21:57  |  alan 03/08/07
  47.   Joe #6, Mexico an even bigger prison... 21:57  |  Rolandus 03/08/07
  48.   Robert 21:58  |  Nerys 03/08/07
  49.   to KUTV 22:06  |  mehmet 03/08/07
  50.   Realistic Arab 30 22:09  |  alan 03/08/07
  51.   Yishai Kohen 22:10  |  Axel 03/08/07
  52.   Its time for the Palestinians to return home 22:36  |  A Caller 03/08/07
  53.   Lakshmi 22:45  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 03/08/07
  54.   To Ben Jabo - Follow up 22:59  |  Massoud Levy 03/08/07
  55.   11Richard S.from Toronto,here are some facts:since the military 23:05  |  lakshmi 03/08/07
  56.   37William,stop living in the past,especially a mythical past,the 23:15  |  lakshmi 03/08/07
  57.   # 45 alan 23:17  |  Realistic Arab 03/08/07
  58.   lakshmi`s "Islamic" facts 23:34  |  Massoud Levy 03/08/07
  59.   48. mehmet 23:35  |  KUTW 03/08/07
  60.   #6 JOE 23:51  |  ACE 03/08/07
  61.   #53 Masoud. Fair Enough 23:53  |  Baz Mann 03/08/07
  62.   ISRAEL MUST PUSH 5 KM INSIDE GAZA AS A SECURITY ZONE 23:54  |  don 03/08/07
  63.   lakshimi: nice "facts", but you haven`t addressed the issue 00:55  |  Richard S 04/08/07
  64.   while the two Palestinians are being apprehended,in a village 01:19  |  lakshmi 04/08/07
  65.   Jewish history 01:55  |  Inigo Montoya 04/08/07
  66.   lakshmi and massoud 02:04  |  Yossi 04/08/07
  67.   lakshmi 02:38  |  vz 04/08/07
  68.   alan 03:09  |  Tamir Palestine 04/08/07
  69.   Gaza - worlds largest prison 03:52  |  Gershon Kay 04/08/07
  70.   vz # 67 03:56  |  sam 04/08/07
  71.   My commendations to the IDF and Israeli Police 03:58  |  Yered Shmuel 04/08/07
  72.   63Richard S,if israel gives back the land it stole from the 05:01  |  lakshmi 04/08/07
  73.   #2 JOHN I HAVE 20 SETS OF KEYS TO HOUSES 05:23  |  paul harris 04/08/07
  74.   To #72 06:18  |  Boris 04/08/07
  75.   Lakshmi 08:19  |  JES 04/08/07
  76.   Sorry Lakshim 08:23  |  JES 04/08/07
  77.   #2 John 08:26  |  JES 04/08/07
  78.   Lakshmi read this artical 08:28  |  Ah 04/08/07
  79.   VOTE FOR MANHIGUT YEHUDIT 09:56  |  BEN TZION 04/08/07
  80.   lakshmi - You are quite busy on this subject... 10:50  |  S 04/08/07
  81.   Lakshmi the liar @ 72 11:52  |  ChanahS 04/08/07
  82.   nazi inquiry on the cocentration camp escape 11:56  |  mehmet 04/08/07
  83.   Lakshmi - weird economics 12:04  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 04/08/07
  84.   #82 - Mehmet 12:24  |  JES 04/08/07
  85.   JES&Chanah S,they are building the sewage system for the settlers 12:34  |  lakshmi 04/08/07
  86.