Security forces avert major terror attack in W. Bank

Traffic police, Border Guard identify 2 suspicious 17-year-olds near Tapuah Junction; discover knives, gun, powerful explosives which may have been intended for terrorist attack at crowded hitchhikers post.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Weapons seized at Tapuah Junction 370 (photo credit: Courtesy of Border Guard )
Weapons seized at Tapuah Junction 370
(photo credit: Courtesy of Border Guard )
Border Police officers averted a major terror attack in the West Bank on Saturday after stopping two Palestinian men acting suspiciously, and discovering powerful explosives in their possession, as well as knives and a gun.
The incident occurred near Tapuah Junction in the northern West Bank, near a hitchhikers post used by many Israelis on Saturday night.
Security forces suspect that the post was the intended target of the attack.
"Our fighters noticed two men in their 20s acting strangely," a Border Police spokesman said. "They looked under pressure in the presence of security personnel," he added.
The suspicious conduct by the Palestinians prompted Border Police to initiate a search of them and their bags. The officers uncovered a small arsenal of powerful explosives.
Four pipe bombs, two knives, and a home-made gun were seized in the search.
A Judea and Samaria Traffic Police patrol car then joined the scene, and placed the suspects under arrest.
During initial questioning, each suspect blamed the other. Both men are from the Balata region of Nablus. The suspects were taken away for questioning, and are refusing to cooperate.
Border Police then dispatched a bomb squad unit, which defused pipe bombs.