On Friday, two incendiary balloons landed in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo in a home’s courtyard area.
By: United with Israel Staff
This week, Palestinians continued a wave of arson terror that has destroyed thousands of acres of farmland and nature preserves, causing millions of dollars of damage.
Unlike most of these incidents, which have occurred in rural areas, an attempted arson attack on Friday occurred in Jerusalem’s densely populated Gilo neighborhood.
Specifically, two incendiary balloons landed in the courtyard of a private home. The balloons were carrying several matches and fabric soaked in flammable material, reported Arutz 7.
Israeli police launched an investigation to determine whether the balloons were released by residents of Beit Jala, a Jerusalem-area Arab town.
No damage was caused by the fire balloons, which police sappers disposed of.
The incident represents the latest chapter in the Hamas-led terror campaign launched over three months ago, which has relied on airborne incendiary devices carried on kites, balloons, and even an abused falcon.
Earlier this week, the IDF implemented new technology to shoot down incendiary balloons sent from Gaza into Israel. The new optoelectronic system pinpoints the balloons’ exact locations and then sends drones to neutralize the danger.
With over 25,000 dunams (6,177.6 acres) of Israeli nature reserves, forests, and agricultural land destroyed by incendiary kites and balloons sent from Gaza into Israel, the phenomenon is nothing short of an epidemic.
In a recent Washington Post opinion piece, President Donald Trump’s special adviser Jared Kushner, his Mideast envoy Jason Greenblatt, and the US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman slammed Hamas for the tactic, remarking: “Hamas must immediately cease provoking or coordinating attacks on Israelis and Egyptians, and on infrastructure projects sponsored by donor nations and organizations. Rather than looking for opportunities to weaponize everything from kites to mirrors in order to attack Israel, Hamas should focus its ingenuity on improving the Gazan economy.”