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Article on terrorist attack

On 21 September 2012, three Egyptian heavily-armed terrorists, dressed as civilians, wearing explosive belts, and carrying rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, approached the Egyptian-Israeli border at an area where the Israel-Egypt barrier remained incomplete. In the ensuing gunfight, the three terrorists were killed by members of the mixed-gender Caracal Battalion, while one Israeli soldier, 20-year-old Netanel Yahalomi, was killed by the terrorists. Another Israeli soldier was lightly injured.

The jihadist group Ansar Beit al-Maqdes, an al-Qaeda-inspired terrorist organization based in the Sinai Peninsula, claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack.

Background
Following the 2011–2012 Egyptian revolution, militant organizations increased their activity in the Sinai Peninsula, and some al-Qaeda-linked groups were established as well. These militants have been frequently attacking and bombing gas pipelines in the Sinai running between Egypt and Israel. , there have been 15 bombings on these gas pipelines since the 2011 uprising.



In August 2011, a series of cross-border attacks were carried out in southern Israel on Highway 12 near the Egyptian border via the Sinai Peninsula. The terrorists opened fire on an Egged No. 392 bus near Eilat, and soon thereafter, a bomb was detonated next to an Israeli army patrol along the Egypt–Israel border. A third attack occurred when an anti-tank missile hit a private vehicle, killing four civilians. Eight Israelis – six civilians, one Yamam Special Unit police officer, and one Golani Brigade soldier – were killed during the multi-pronged attack. The Israeli security forces reported eight attackers killed, and Egyptian security forces reported killing another two.

On 31 July 2012, the United States Department of State's Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism warned in a report, "The smuggling of humans, weapons, cash, and other contraband through the Sinai into Israel and Gaza created criminal networks with possible ties to terrorist groups in the region. The smuggling of weapons from Libya through Egypt has increased since the overthrow of the Qaddafi regime." Haaretz reported that forces from al-Qaeda, supported by the local Bedouin, have been stationed in the Sinai. It also reported that several other terrorist groups in Gaza have been assisting these forces, and were also smuggling weapons and goods into Gaza.



On 5 August 2012, a deadly attack occured when armed men ambushed an Egyptian military base in the Sinai Peninsula, killing 16 soldiers and stealing two armored cars, which they used to infiltrate into Israel. The attackers broke through the Kerem Shalom border crossing to Israel, where one of the vehicles exploded. They then engaged in a firefight with soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, during which six of the attackers were killed. No Israelis were injured.

A few days before the attack on 21 September, a state of alert was declared in the Sinai Peninsula by Egyptian security, following intelligence regarding "unprecdented attacks" being launched in the Sinai by jihadist groups against security officers. Eight armored tanks were sent to north Sinai.

Attack
On 21 September 2012, three heavily armed terrorists, dressed in civilian clothing, wearing explosive belts, and carrying rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, approached the Egyptian-Israeli border near Mount Arif, at an area where the Israel–Egypt barrier remained incomplete. One of the terrorists was wearing a suicide bomb. At the time of the attackm 200/240 kilometers of the fence had been completed, with the remaining 40 km - including the Mount Arif area - to be completed in 2013.

The terrorists attacked soldiers from the Artillery Corps, who were safeguarding civilians working on the fence and watching over a group of African migrants who had recently arrived in Israel. Members of the mixed-gender Caracal Battalion (Wildcat Battalion ), whose members are 60% female, rushed to the scene of the attack and engaged in a firefight with the terrorists. During the firefight, a suicide bomb belt on one of the terrorists detonated, while the IDF soldiers managed to kill the remaining two terrorists.

One Israeli soldier, 20-year-old Corporal Netanel Yahalomi of Nof Ayalon, was shot in the head and killed by the terrorists while he was giving water to African migrants, who sought refuge in Israel. Another soldier was injured from shrapnel resulting from the detonation of the suicide bomb. The two soldiers were evacuated to the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, but Yahalomi died shortly after arriving at the hospital.

Following the attack, special forces of the IDF arrived at the site of the attack to investigate the possibility of additional infiltration by terrorists into Israel, and ruled out this possibility.

Responsibility
Two days after the attack, the jihadist group Ansar Beit al-Maqdes ("Partisans of Jerusalem"), also known as Ansar Jerusalem, an al-Qaeda inspired terrorist organization based in the Sinai Peninsula, claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack. The group said that the attack was a "disciplinary attack against those who insulted the beloved Prophet," referring to the controversial film Innocence of Muslims, a film produced in America that denigrates the Islamic prophet Mohammed, and to "discipline the Jews for their heinous acts," alleging that Jews were involved in creating the film, although did not elaborate on how. The producer of the film was Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a 55 year old Coptic Christian from Egypt living near Los Angeles, California.

According to the jihadist group, three of their terrorists had infiltrated into Israel a day before the attack and remained hidden for about a day, until they spotted an Israeli patrol and attacked.

Reactions
IDF Spokesman Brigadier General Yoav Mordechai said that the IDF thwarted a "very big terrorist attack," while Lieutenant-Colonel Avital Leibovich repeated these comments, saying that "A big terror attack was thwarted."

BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Marcus noted that Israel's responses to the attack are limited, since any Israeli strike in Egyptian territory would significantly deteriorate Israel-Egypt ties.

Two days after the attack, IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz visited the site of the attack, and explained that the Egyptian-Israeli border would continue to present a challenge to Israel, even after the fence along the border si completed. Gantz explained that "we have made a great effort over the past two years to seal the border with Egypt and it will be sealed, but even when that happens, the threat won't be eliminated."

On 24 September 2012, Israeli President Shimon Peres visited the Yahalomi family to pay his respects, saying that "the pain of your loss is enormous. I came to you, on the eve of Yom Kippur, in order to tell you on behalf of the entire nation how proud we are of your son and that your pain is ours."

Aftermath
In response to the attack, Egyptian security officials declared a maximum security alert along the border between Egypt and Israel. The Egyptian army also began patrolling the area to search for militants who were suspected of involvement in the attack.

Hundreds of people attended the funeral for Netanel Yahalomi. Yahalomi was buried in Modiin and was posthumously promoted from the rank of private to corporal.

Following the attack, it was announced that the IDF would continue to offer aid to African infiltrators and migrants, which includes food and water.