Israelis Sink Terrorist Boat; 20 Believed Dead

An Israeli patrol boat sank an unidentified vessel off the Israeli coast, apparently killing 20 suspected terrorists who had planned a major action in connection with this week’s Independence Day celebrations, the Israeli army announced this morning.

As described by the military spokesman, the attempted infiltration was believed to be the largest in many years. According to the army account, an Israel Defense Forces naval patrol boat encountered a “suspect vessel” off the coast on Saturday night and ordered it to stop. The order was ignored, and warning shots were fired.

The warning fire was returned with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades, and the suspicious vessel was sunk while attempting to escape. The Israel Defense Forces said there were 28 people aboard the boat, of whom eight were pulled from the water alive. One body was found, and the rest are presumed dead, the army said.

The army said its naval patrol suffered no casualties in the clash.

The suspects had intended to come ashore in groups of six or seven using three rubber dinghies on board the sunken vessel, the army said. It apparently based the account on information gained from questioning the survivors.

The alleged terrorists are believed to have planned to attack an unidentified target somewhere in Israel in connection with the country’s Independence Day holiday this Thursday.

As possible land routes for terrorist infiltration have been closed off, Israel has become more concerned in recent years over possible infiltration by sea. Jordan and Syria prevent terrorists from crossing from their territory into Israel, and Egypt has been at peace with the Jewish state since 1979. The Israeli army has occupied southern Lebanon for almost three years.

“We can’t close the shore totally,” Israeli navy commander Avraham Ben Shushan said in a weekend interview with the military radio station. He said would-be infiltrators, financed and trained abroad, have been steadily improving their equipment, using faster boats and more and better arms.

“What we can do is what we have done in the last six years--and that is to make every effort to see that there is no penetration,” Shushan said.

Israel protects the coast with day and night patrols as well as on-shore lookout stations. And according to military radio, there has not been a single successful infiltration by sea in the last six years.