Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Americans bring 'souvenir' artillery shell to Israel airport

FILE - In this photo provided by Israel's airport authority, shows an unexploded artillery shell at the Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod, Israel, Monday, Sept. 6, 2021. (Israeli airport authority via AP) FILE - In this photo provided by Israel's airport authority, shows an unexploded artillery shell at the Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod, Israel, Monday, Sept. 6, 2021. (Israeli airport authority via AP)
Share
JERUSALEM -

A bomb scare set off scenes of panic at Israel's airport after an American family showed up with an unexploded artillery shell they had found in the Golan Heights and intended to bring back as a souvenir.

Videos circulating online showed passengers ducking for cover, running and screaming at the departure hall of Ben Gurion International Airport on Thursday.

The airport authority said security officers sounded an alert when they discovered the unexploded shell. At least one person was injured after trying to run on a conveyer belt, it said.

Normal operations resumed after the shell was safely removed a short time later. The family was released after questioning.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 war, and the area saw heavy fighting during that war and another Arab-Israeli war six years later. Areas known to contain unexploded munitions are clearly marked and fenced off.

Israel annexed the strategic plateau in 1981 and today it is a major tourist draw, with wineries, popular hiking spots and a small ski resort with a short season. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced plans to boost Israeli settlement in the territory in December.

The Trump administration broke with decades of American policy to recognize Israel's claim to the Golan, making the United States the only country to do so.

Israel says it needs the Golan, which has soaring views over Lebanon and Syria, for its security. Syria has long insisted the entire territory be returned to it in any peace deal.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

British Columbia saw a rare unanimous vote in its legislature in October 2019, when members passed a law adopting the United Nations Declarations on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, setting out standards including free, prior and informed consent for actions affecting them.

Two and a half years after losing her best friend and first love to suicide, Brooke Ford shared her story of grief and resilience at the CMHA Windsor-Essex Suicide Awareness Walk.

opinion

opinion How to make the most out of your TFSA

The Tax-Free Savings Account can be a powerful savings tool and investment vehicle. Financial contributor Christopher Liew explains how they work and how to take full advantage of them so you can reach your financial goals faster.

Local Spotlight

When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.

Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.

A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.

An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.

An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.