This page is subject to the extended confirmed restriction related to the Arab-Israeli conflict.On September 5, 2002, during the Second Intifada, a Merkava II tank was driving along a dirt road near the Kissufim crossing following figures identified as "suspicious" when it was blown up by a 100-kilogram bomb buried under the road.
[5] According to the Israel Defense Forces, the incident began on the previous night, when anti-tank missiles were fired at an army post.
[2][5] An Arab umbrella group dominated by Yasser Arafat's Fatah organization claimed responsibility, stating, "This operation came to prove that Palestinian fighters are capable of reaching everywhere.
[2][5] Israel responded to the ambush by launching a helicopter missile strike at a metal workshop or foundry being used as a bomb factory in Khan Younis.
[2][6][7][8] Israel's defense minister, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer reacted at a meeting of his Labor Party by stating that Israel would not return occupied areas of the Gaza Strip to the control of the Palestinian Authority, as it had pledged to do the previous month.