(Communicated by the IDF Spokesperson)
13 April 2009

"The fishing boat that was identified this morning by Israel Navy boats was
booby-trapped with hundreds of kilograms of explosives," estimated the IDF
Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, speaking about the
incident that occurred on Monday morning, April 13, 2009, near the Gazan
coast.

In the early morning hours, Israel Navy boats had noticed an unmanned boat
near the Gazan coast. When the forces were situated a few hundred meters
from the fishing boat, a very large explosion occurred on the boat. No
damage was caused to the Israeli naval boat.

"We assume that this was an attempt to attack one of the Israel Navy boats,
an attempt that fortunately was not successful, thanks to the soldiers
correctly implementing the regulations," said the Chief of the General Staff
at the signing of his organ donation card, and added that this kind of
threat is not new, as a similar incident happened several years ago. "We are
examining all our arrangements, and we will carry on dealing with threats of
this kind also in the future."

When asked about whether this incident disturbs the relative quiet in the
area of the Gaza Strip lately, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi confirmed, and also
reminded of the incident about one week ago, in which Golani Brigade
soldiers encountered a group of terrorists attempting to plant an explosive.
"I think that Hamas has been intimidated, and it is not by chance that there
is no direct firing," he pointed out, but clarified, "We know that hostile
terror activities or terror attacks along the security fence, by sea or
through the Sinai are still taking place, and therefore we examine and
adjust our arrangements all the time."