Police Foil Terror Plot With Highway Arrest of 10 Palestinians
By The Media Line Staff
Israeli security forces arrested 10 Palestinians on Monday following a high-speed car chase that ended on Route 6 near the Ben Shemen interchange. Authorities say the group was believed to be linked to an attempted bombing plot during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The incident began when Shin Bet intelligence services alerted police to a possible terror operation in progress. Officers pursued a suspicious vehicle traveling from Jerusalem toward central Israel. The chase ended near the Qassem interchange, where police stopped the car and arrested the driver along with nine passengers. A police bomb technician searched the vehicle for explosives.
The primary suspect, a man in his 20s from the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem, had been under investigation for about a month. Authorities say he had advanced plans for a mass-casualty attack, initially intending to plant pipe bombs on the Jerusalem light rail, buses, or in a restaurant. He reportedly studied how to manufacture explosives and purchased materials such as pipes, matchboxes, and firecrackers.
Investigators say the suspect later shifted focus to a combined ramming and stabbing attack. He began taking driving lessons, purchased large knives, and allegedly planned to target a central bus station in Jerusalem just days before Ramadan began.
The identities and roles of the nine other individuals arrested remain under investigation. Some of them were reportedly in Israel illegally, according to police. Video footage from the arrest showed officers with weapons drawn removing the suspects from a van and handcuffing them along the roadside.
Security officials say the swift coordination between Shin Bet and the police likely prevented a major attack.
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