As Israeli security forces continued massive efforts on Monday to rescue three kidnapped teens, Palestinians tried to infiltrate the settlement of Kochav Yaakov in the Binyamin region, east of Ramallah. IDF troops managed to disperse a cell of two or three Palestinians trying to get through the fence surrounding the settlement. According to the Israel Defense Forces, Israeli soldiers fired shots at the Palestinians, wounding one. Another suspect fled. The wounded Palestinian was taken to a hospital in Ramallah for treatment. He was reported to be in serious condition. This was not the first time that Palestinians tried to get through the Kochav Yaakov fence in recent days. Meanwhile, for the third consecutive night, Israeli Air Force jets bombed Hamas and Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip overnight Monday in response to rocket fire into Israel. The violence has escalated since the three teens were abducted near Hebron on Thursday. Israel believes the kidnappers are members of Hamas. The rockets fired into Israel were mostly intercepted, and no damage or wounded were reported. The targets were terror hubs and weapons depots in southern Gaza, another weapons cache in the center and a weapons workshop in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit issued a statement that the intended targets were hit and that there were no Israeli casualties. In separate addresses on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz both stressed that Israel would not tolerate rocket fire into Israel, and that though the kidnapping occurred in the West Bank, security forces were also closely monitoring terrorist activity in the Gaza Strip. "In recent days, we have witnessed attempts to launch another front in the Gaza Strip," Netanyahu said. "We have responded to rocket fire with force, and if needed, we will respond with even greater force. I vow that anyone who tries to hurt the citizens of Israel will get hurt."
