Nur, with a range of more than 20 kilometers, was said to have been
transported by sea from Lebanon to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula in late 2007. The
rocket was first fired into Israel on Jan. 3.
The Iranian projectile was described as a variant of the Soviet-origin
Katyusha rocket. Nur was said to have been fired by Hizbullah during its
34-day war with Israel in 2006.
Israeli sources said the Hamas regime was believed to have smuggled
dozens of Nur rockets during the breach of the Gaza-Sinai border in late
January. The sources said that from Jan. 23 until Feb. 2, hundreds of
rockets and anti-aircraft missiles were transported from Egypt to the Gaza
Strip.
Despite Egyptian efforts to rebuild the wall, Palestinians continued to
pour into Sinai on Sunday. Egyptian forces did not intervene.
"We also know that more than 100 terrorists from Iran, Lebanon and Egypt
entered the Gaza Strip to provide technical and combat expertise to Hamas,"
a security source said.
[On Monday, at least three people were killed and 10 injured in an
Islamic Jihad suicide bombing in the southern Israeli city of Dimona. The
bomber, who detonated his explosive vest, entered a cafe in a shopping mall.
Another would-be suicide bomber was shot dead by a police officer before the
attacker could detonate his explosive vest. Jihad said both bombers entered
Israel from Sinai.]
Earlier, the Israeli Cabinet discussed the construction of a fence along
the 200-kilometer border with Egypt. On Sunday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak
said
the project was crucial amid the assessment that hundreds of Hamas and
Islamic Jihad fighters were in Sinai preparing to infiltrate the Jewish
state.
"The construction of a fence on the border with Egypt is an urgent
need," Barak said. "We must immediately begin the preliminary stage [of
construction], which would include two sections near Nitzana and in the
Eilat area. These sections are vital, and must be constructed in order to
deal with hostile terrorist activity and
infiltrators."
