Commander to Soldiers: 'You Just Saved 20 People' 09:23 Sep 27, '06 / 5 Tishrei 5767 by Hillel Fendel

An IDF force in Shechem was shot at, hit 3-5 terrorists, arrested 2 more, and found and neutralized a 10-kg. explosives vest which was apparently intended for a pre-Yom Kippur attack.

The incident occurred during the night in the Balata slum neighborhood of Shechem (Nablus), the city long described as the terror capital of the Palestinian Authority.

In the course of ongoing activity designed to pressure terrorist groups in the area, and in the wake of intelligence warnings regarding preparations for an imminent terrorist attack, the Israeli forces entered the Balata neighborhood over the course of the night. They surrounded a particular building, from which terrorists inside soon began firing and hurling explosives at the forces. The Israelis returned fire, identifying 3-5 hits; our forces were unhurt.

The joint IDF and GSS forces then combed the area, finding a powerful 10-kg. (22 lbs.) explosives vest hidden among garbage bins outside the building. Two wanted terrorists were arrested.

"I told my soldiers afterwards, 'You just saved 20 people in Netanya, or possibly more if it [the bomb] would have been used in a more populous area,'" the commanding officer later told Ynet. Many of the soldiers who fought this mission returned just three weeks ago from Lebanon.

Explosives vests of this type have been used by Palestinian terrorists in dozens of suicide bombing attacks in Israel over the past several years, murdering hundreds of people.