Qassam lands just south of Ashkelon

A Qassam rocket landed about two kilometers south of Ashkelon yesterday, in an open area not far from one of the city's industrial zones.

The rocket, which landed close to a Carlsberg beer plant, caused neither casualties nor property damage. However, several sensitive targets lie not far from where it landed, including the Rutenberg power plant and a large fuel storage depot.

This is the second time a Qassam has landed in the vicinity of Ashkelon. The last was in August 2003.

Four other Qassams landed in the Western Negev yesterday, but also caused no casualties or damage. In response to the Qassam attacks, Israel Defense Forces artillery units pounded targets in northern Gaza, wounding two people, according to Palestinian sources.

Also yesterday, the IDF and the Palestinian police jointly prevented a massive car bomb from exploding on the Tunnel Road, which connects the Gush Etzion settlements with Jerusalem.

The Palestinian police had obtained intelligence indicating that terrorists planned to take a car laden with inflammable material from Beit Jalla to the Tunnel Road and blow it up there. They relayed this information to Israel, which soon obtained confirmation from its own informants. IDF troops were then sent to Beit Jalla to search for the car.

The troops eventually located the car, laden with gasoline and canisters of cooking gas, very close to the northern entrance of one of the tunnels on the Tunnel Road. According to IDF sources, the terrorists had apparently begun moving the car into position, but managed to drive it into the fence that was built to protect the road, whereupon it got stuck.

Once the car was located, the IDF closed off the Tunnel Road and brought sappers in to detonate the bomb. As a result, there were huge traffic jams on the road in both directions for several hours. The IDF is now searching for the perpetrators.

The IDF also continued its offensive on terrorists in the Gaza Strip yesterday. An Israel Air Force aircraft attacked the Beit Lahiya home of Amar Karmout, a leader of the Popular Resistance Committees, before dawn. The building was partly gutted by fire, but Karmout, it seems, was not at home. However, medics said, another Palestinian was wounded.

IDF sources said the air strike targeted a PRC weapons store. The PRC has been involved in many recent rocket attacks on Israel.

In Rafah, a missile was fired at the office of a charity linked to Islamic Jihad, causing damage but no casualties. Military sources said the office had been used to plan attacks.

	Flames rising from a car loaded with explosives after IDF sappers neutralized it near Bethlehem yesterday.
	Photo by: Reuters