An Israeli soldier was killed yesterday near Metula by a sniper's bullet fired from Lebanon. No organization claimed responsibility for the incident, but IDF sources said it may have been carried out by Hezbollah in retaliation to the strike this weekend on a Syrian site, which Israel says is a terrorist training camp.
At about 4:40 P.M. close to the border fence, Golani troops were waiting in ambush when two cars opened fire on them from the Lebanese side of the border. The shots fatally wounded Staff Sergeant David Solomonov, 21, of Kfar Sava. According to one version, Solomov was hit by several snipers simultaneously. The soldiers from the Golani unit and other IDF outposts fired back into Lebanon.
Medical teams rushed to the site but Solomov died shortly after being hit.
IDF sources yesterday denied the report of Hezbollah television channel Al-Manar that Israel Air Force fighter helicopters were used in the attack, although helicopters did patrol the border. It is not clear whether yesterday's attack was a local initiative or directly ordered by Syria.
GOC Northern Command Major-General Benny Ganz said yesterday, "The attack in Syria is not the reason for shooting at our forces, certainly not directly. It was a local action."
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz yesterday consulted senior officers by telephone. Security sources said Israel will have to assess whether the Hezbollah move was a tactic and decide on the retaliation accordingly. If Israel concludes that the shooting sums up the Syrian reaction to the air strike, perhaps it will refrain from further escalation at this stage.
Solomov was due to end his military service next Sunday. He was born in the United States to an American mother, Evelyn, and an Israeli father, Mordechai. The family immigrated to Israel when he was seven. He had already begun preparing for civilian life and planned to go to university, and then try to get a job in the Shin Bet or Mossad.
