JERUSALEM – A family of American tourists set off a pandemonium at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on Thursday as they tried to pass through security with an unexploded ordnance while navigating the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The video of the scene shows travelers sprinting for safety and ducking behind luggage and benches as parents frantically ask for their children. Israel’s state of permanent readiness for attack came as dozens of people immediately took up positions on the floor of the departure hall. There was no explosion, but a 32-year-old man was treated for injuries sustained when he tried to run along a luggage conveyor belt, according to the Israeli Airports Authority. The incident allegedly started when security inspectors found a suspicious object in the family luggage and identified it as a non-explosive ammunition. Officials immediately began evacuation, causing panic throughout the terminal. The family told agents that one of their children had found the object while touring the Golan Heights, a mountainous region 95 miles northeast of Jerusalem – and 50 miles from Damascus – that Israel occupied from Syria in 1967. The family said they were taking the house as a souvenir – ignoring its dangerous nature, according to local media. Security officials canceled the evacuation orders after questioning the family. They were allowed to board their flight. Although it is no longer my field, it is impossible to ignore the illusions at Ben Gurion Airport tonight: An American family traveling to the Golan Heights picked up a fallen shell and took it with them in a suitcase. The following event Stupidity × 10000 pic.twitter.com/PEfPq0WHZ4 – Itai Blumental Itay Blumental (@ItayBlumental) April 28, 2022 The device, possibly a remnant of the battles with Syria in 1967 or 1973, is one of many non-explosive munitions discovered in an area where locals know how to be careful whenever they break through known paths. Mine clearance operations are under way in several places along the war-torn borders of Israel, Syria and Lebanon. And in January, the Israeli army fired hundreds of rounds of ammunition from a 45-year-old Syrian weapons shelter recently discovered in the Golan Heights. The clearance of explosives is part of Israel’s efforts to promote population growth and tourism in the rich valleys and open areas. The government announced plans last year to double the number of Israelis living in the Golan Heights by investing $ 300 million in housing and infrastructure. Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 despite Syria’s continuing claims to the region. No country had honored Israeli sovereignty in the region until President Donald Trump formally recognized the Golan Heights as part of Israel in 2019.
