Arson balloons land in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv suburb

JTA

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Balloons rigged with incendiary devices were discovered in Jerusalem and a Tel Aviv suburb.

A woman discovered the balloons in the Valley of the Cross, located near Israel’s Knesset, or Parliament building in the heart of Jerusalem. She collected them and took them to her next stop from where she called police.

Security officials have called on the public to not touch the devices and immediately call police.

An incendiary balloon also was discovered on Thursday in the coastal city of Bat Yam, a suburb of Tel Aviv.

The balloons on Thursday come a day after a balloon carrying an incendiary device landed in Jerusalem’s upscale German Colony neighborhood. This comes on the heels of a similar arson balloon discovered in the courtyard of a home in the West Bank settlement of Givat Zeev, located just north of Jerusalem.

Last week, an incendiary balloon landed on a highway near the Modiin industrial zone in central Israel.

It has been six months since Palestinians in Gaza began sending incendiary balloons and kites over the border toward southern Israel as part of March of Return protests. The balloons being discovered in central Israel are believed to be copycat efforts on the part of Palestinians in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem.