This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/08/world/middleeast/explosion-golan-heights.html

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Explosion in Golan Heights Appears to Target Israeli Troops Explosion in Golan Heights Appears to Target Israeli Troops
(35 minutes later)
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said Saturday that an explosive device intended to target an Israeli patrol in the Golan Heights had detonated near the fence separating Syrian and Israeli-controlled territory, the first such attack since the armistice line was established in 1973.JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said Saturday that an explosive device intended to target an Israeli patrol in the Golan Heights had detonated near the fence separating Syrian and Israeli-controlled territory, the first such attack since the armistice line was established in 1973.
No one was injured in the explosion just before 5 p.m. Friday on the eastern side of the fence near the Druse village of Majdal Shams, said Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman. No one claimed responsibility for the explosion, which caused slight damage to an army vehicle patrolling on the western side, Colonel Lerner said.No one was injured in the explosion just before 5 p.m. Friday on the eastern side of the fence near the Druse village of Majdal Shams, said Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman. No one claimed responsibility for the explosion, which caused slight damage to an army vehicle patrolling on the western side, Colonel Lerner said.
Errant fire from the Syrian civil war has landed in the Golan Heights scores of times over the past two years, and the Israeli military has responded at least a dozen times to attacks it judged to be intentional. Friday’s explosion, Colonel Lerner said, was something different.Errant fire from the Syrian civil war has landed in the Golan Heights scores of times over the past two years, and the Israeli military has responded at least a dozen times to attacks it judged to be intentional. Friday’s explosion, Colonel Lerner said, was something different.
“We’ve had potshots, we’ve had artillery, we’ve had mortar, but nothing like this,” he said. “This has more of a terrorist-type ring to it — it doesn’t seem to be military built.”“We’ve had potshots, we’ve had artillery, we’ve had mortar, but nothing like this,” he said. “This has more of a terrorist-type ring to it — it doesn’t seem to be military built.”
Syria and Israel remain technically in a state of war, though the armistice line between them has been mostly quiet for the past four decades. Israel has launched airstrikes in Syria several times this year to stop convoys of advanced weapons from being transferred to the Lebanese militia Hezbollah. That has prompted threats from leaders in Syria that they would allow Palestinian groups to wage attacks on Israel through its borders.Syria and Israel remain technically in a state of war, though the armistice line between them has been mostly quiet for the past four decades. Israel has launched airstrikes in Syria several times this year to stop convoys of advanced weapons from being transferred to the Lebanese militia Hezbollah. That has prompted threats from leaders in Syria that they would allow Palestinian groups to wage attacks on Israel through its borders.
Colonel Lerner said Israel had not responded to the attack, because “we don’t know who placed it and who used it.”Colonel Lerner said Israel had not responded to the attack, because “we don’t know who placed it and who used it.”
“It could be from anybody in the opposition extremist elements to individuals to Syrian forces,” he noted, “anywhere in the spectrum.”“It could be from anybody in the opposition extremist elements to individuals to Syrian forces,” he noted, “anywhere in the spectrum.”
In a separate episode, Colonel Lerner said that following reports in the Palestinian news media, Israel’s military advocate general had ordered an investigation into the death of a Palestinian teenager on Saturday in the West Bank.In a separate episode, Colonel Lerner said that following reports in the Palestinian news media, Israel’s military advocate general had ordered an investigation into the death of a Palestinian teenager on Saturday in the West Bank.
According to The Associated Press, a Palestinian man said that his 15-year-old son had been shot and killed by Israeli soldiers near Ramallah. According to Reuters, a Palestinian man said that his 15-year-old son was killed by Israeli soldiers near Ramallah in an unprovoked shooting on Saturday. The father, Wajdi al-Ramahy, said that soldiers guarding a nearby settlement shot his son Wajih just after he left a grocery store.
 Colonel Lerner said that Israeli soldiers had been in the area trying to stop stone-throwing but that it was unclear whether their operations were connected to the teenager’s death. Colonel Lerner said that Israeli soldiers had been in the area trying to stop stone-throwing but that it was unclear whether their operations were connected to the teenager’s death.
In a statement about the shooting, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority blamed Israel for what he called a “cold-blooded assassination” and said that it was destructive to the peace process, Reuters reported.