REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JERUSALEM -- Israel stepped up security precautions along its northern borders for possible retaliation by Hezbollah over a Sunday airstrike that killed a number of its fighters, local media reported.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) deployed Iron Dome anti-missile batteries at several spots in northern Israel, the Arabic Sky News network reported Monday evening. No official IDF confirmation was available at the moment.
Although Israeli officials did not acknowledge the strike, the IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz said on Monday afternoon that the army is prepared and monitoring the developments in the region.
"The IDF is prepared, tracking all developments, and ready to act as needed," Gantz said at a military event, according to the Ynet news website.
Israeli media also reported changes in military deployment in the north. According to the Ha'aretz daily, the IDF did not let several units deployed along the northern border go on leave as planned. The IDF had also raised the level of alert in outposts along the Syrian and Lebanese borders, according to the Ynet website.
Furthermore, Channel 10 reported that farmers in the border town of Mettulah were told by the military to stay away from the border fence.
Israel also shut down the airspace over the Golan Heights on Monday, ordering civil aircraft to stay out of the area. The airspace above Israel's north, east of the Jordan River, was closed to all civil aircraft except for agricultural aircraft several kilometers from the Syrian border.
An Israeli official confirmed to Xinhua that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would convene a meeting of his security cabinet on Tuesday to discuss the recent developments in the area and the security arrangements up north.
Earlier on Monday, Netanyahu said that Israel "insists on its right to defend itself against those who will perpetrate terror attacks against its citizens and attack them."
The Sei Mengke Industrial Estate is designed to be an industrial center producing palm oil products such as oleochemicals.
The Kuala Tanjung port will facilitate transport or export of palm oil products from Sei Mengke.
A toll road would be built to link Sei Mengke with the ports of Kuala Tanjung and Belawan via Medan, the minister said.
A new power plant will also be built in Asahan to cope with shortage in power supply in that province, he said.
Meanwhile, Sorong will be determined as a special economic area complete with port facility, shipyard, and power plant to be integrated with an industrial estate and marine tourism center in Raja Ampat, he said.
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