After a shutdown of the Israeli cities of Beit She’an and Afula due to
‘intelligence’ that the two cities may be targeted for an attack by
Palestinian resistance, Israeli police ended up arresting two
Palestinians who had crossed the border looking for work.
Initial reports by Israeli police said that the two might be Palestinian resistance fighters, but after intense interrogation all afternoon on Sunday, the Police were forced to admit that they had been mistaken, and that the two Palestinians were simply seeking employment.
Unemployment rates have skyrocketed in Palestine since the outbreak of the current open conflict in 2000, reaching 80-90% in some areas of the Palestinian Occupied Territories. Much of this is due to the fact that many Palestinians worked in Israel prior to 2000, and have been unable to reach their jobs to to ongoing Israeli border closures.
Meanwhile, Israeli police have been on ‘alert’ all day Sunday in the areas of Beit She’an and Afula, in northern Israel.
Rescue crews were on the highest alert possible in the area for fear of an attack, rescue services spokesman Yeruham Mendola said. One hundred ambulances and dozens of medics were also on alert, he said.
Police fanned out across the area, and officers were stationed at schools in Beit She’an and Afula, the officials said on condition of anonymity because the operation was in progress.
But the massive operation resulted in the arrests of only two workers, and apparently the ‘intelligence’ regarding a possible attack was incorrect.
