Border Police observation soldiers spotted the suspect digging a shaft near the separation fence. He was arrested after a foot chase and confessed to trying to infiltrate into Israel. Excavation tools and buckets were found at the site, according to Israeli security sources.
Border Police forces arrested a suspect near the Kalandia crossing on Monday afternoon, with initial reports published at 14:28 stating that observation soldiers spotted several individuals digging a shaft near the separation fence and that the suspect admitted the group intended to infiltrate into Israel. Additional details released by 15:11 identify the suspect as a 36-year-old resident of the Kalandia refugee camp. In his initial interrogation, he confessed that he was digging the tunnel to infiltrate into Israel, and excavation tools and numerous buckets were found at the shaft.
The first report at 14:28 noted the suspect's admission of intent. The incident follows a series of thwarted underground infiltration attempts around Jerusalem that The Zioneer has covered: on June 24, a 25-meter-deep tunnel was uncovered near the A-Za'im crossing, and on June 30, a weapons cache was discovered submerged in a well in al-Jib. On August 9, Border Police at the Ring Crossing found an illegal entrant concealed in a hidden compartment in a vehicle.
As The Zioneer has reported, security forces are conducting an ongoing campaign against terror infrastructure in the Jerusalem envelope, including tunnels and weapons caches intended for attacks. The current case highlights the persistent threat of underground infiltration efforts.
The investigation is ongoing. It remains unclear whether the suspect acted alone or was part of a larger network, and authorities have not disclosed the full depth or extent of the shaft.
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Source and signal
- Open-source intake