ISIS 'Apologized' for Last November's Israeli Attack

The Islamic State "apologized" to Israel for attacking its troops in November, according to The Times of Israel.

"There was one case recently where Daesh opened fire and apologized," Moshe Ya'alon, Israel's defense minister from 2013 until May 2016, said Saturday. The Times points to an incident last year where Israel Defense Forces troops fought with members of the ISIS-affiliated Khalid ibn al-Walid Army near the Syrian border, after which Israeli airstrikes killed four.

Under Israeli law, communication with a terrorist group is illegal as it is considered contact with an enemy agent. Ya'alon made this comment in an onstage interview with Channel 10 news in the city of Afula.

Israel has adopted a mostly non-interventionist approach to ISIS, with this incident being the first direct engagement between Israel and ISIS militants.

"We are well prepared on our northern border and will not allow Islamic State elements or any other hostile elements to use the war in Syria to establish themselves close to our borders," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after the skirmish, according to The Independent.

Israel closed its border with Egypt earlier this month citing increased ISIS activity, despite the influx of travelers to Sinai during Passover. The border reopened last Friday, after the end of Passover, though the Counter-Terrorism Bureau warned that "the threat to Israelis in Sinai remains serious, concrete and imminent," according to Haaretz. 

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