Israel captures Golan 'infiltrator'

The border between the Golan heights and Syria is heavily fortified.

The Israeli military says it has captured an armed Palestinian militant who infiltrated the Golan heights from the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria.

The man fired at least several rounds at an Israeli army outpost before he was seized, officials said.

The lone attacker told interrogators he planned to kidnap an Israeli soldier and take him to Syria, the army said.

The military said the man is a member of Fatah, the ruling Palestinian faction.

The attack on the army outpost took place just over the heavily-fortified border between Syria and the Israeli occupied Golan heights. No casualties were reported.

An inquiry has been launched into how the gunman managed to breach tight Israeli border security.

"The Syrians should not be allowing armed terrorists to cross the border," an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

Negotiations

Israel has recently accused Syria of attempting to disrupt Israeli-Palestinian peace moves and insisted that Damascus was behind a Tel Aviv suicide bombing in February that killed five people.

Israel occupied the Golan Heights during the 1967 Six Day War then annexed it in 1981, although this is not internationally recognised.

Negotiations between Israel and Syria broke down in 2000 over control of the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Syria indicated it wanted to resume negotiations in December last year.

Israel responded by saying it would not revive peace talks with Syria as long as Palestinian militant groups operated in Damascus.