Police Insp.-Gen. Yohanan Danino presented seven Border Police officers and
their commander with awards Monday for recently preventing a series of terrorist
attacks in the West Bank.
The officers, who serve under Border Police
company commander Dep.-Cmdr. Avi Biton, foiled no fewer than four attacks in the
Tapuah Junction area of the West Bank in under a month.
“At a time when
police are under intense public scrutiny, officers are continuing their
difficult, uncompromising, challenging work, including the field... of
counterterrorism,” Danino said during the awards ceremony.
He also
praised the officers for stopping terrorism “with courage and
determination.”
The officers took part in the following lifesaving
missions:
• On April 21, Border Police became suspicious of two Palestinians and
carried out a search, finding four pipe bombs, a handgun and other
ammunition.
• On May 3, the officers intercepted two pipe bombs and
knives being ferried by two Palestinians.
• On May 6, a Palestinian
suspect was caught with three pipe bombs. Police believe he was going to pass
the pipe bombs to a second suspect on the other side of the
checkpoint. Both were arrested.
• On May 10, two suspects carrying
three pipe bombs and large knives were arrested.
In each incident, bomb
squad officers arrived at the scene and made the devices safe.
“There is
undoubtedly a rise in the number of incidents in this area,” a Border Police
source told The Jerusalem Post.
“But the awareness of our officers is
stopping the attacks.”