Escalation: Terror balloon lands in Jerusalem

Israeli police were alerted to a house in Givat Ze’ev, a Jerusalem neighborhood, late Sunday night after a Molotov cocktail was found tied to a balloon was found in the backyard.

Police sappers examined the balloon and transferred the findings for further investigation, officers said.

The police called on the public to exercise extreme caution with regards to suspicious objects such as kites and balloons, which may contain explosives or flammable materials.

Givat Ze’ev is situated adjacent to several Arab neighborhoods.

This concerning incident occurred just days after an incendiary terror balloon was discovered in the Ligad Technology Park in Modi’in in central Israel. It was the first time that a Palestinian airborne incendiary device has been detected this deep inside Israeli territory.

A police source said that the incident was in line with several similar cases indicating Palestinians in Judea and Samaria may be trying to mimic the attacks from Gaza by launching incendiary balloons into central Israeli cities.

Over the past six months, balloons and kites carrying firebombs or explosives have been regularly launched from the Gaza Strip into Israel, sparking countless fires and causing extensive damage.

The Palestinian arson terrorism campaign has so far decimated nearly 10,000 acres of forest and farmland on the Israeli side of the border, causing millions of dollars in damage to the area.

Environmental experts say it will take at least 15 years to rehabilitate the vegetation and wildlife that have been destroyed.

JNS contributed to this report.