Close to 6 PM on Thursday, alert Border Guard officers were able to prevent a serious attack as a routine search of an Arab bus at the A-Zaim check point near Ma’ale Adumim, east of Jerusalem.
According to a statement released by the Israel Police and Border Guard spokesperson, a bus on its way from the A-Zaim village arrived at the check point and the driver was requested to stop for a routing check. Border Guard, Military Police and security personnel working at the check point boarded the bus and began a routine check of the passengers.
During the check, they identified a suspicious individual, and a more thorough examination of his belongings revealed two improvised pipe bombs.
A police sapper was called to the scene and neutralized the explosives. The suspect, 27, a resident of eastern Jerusalem, was arrested and taken for interrogation.
Jerusalem area Border Guard chief Yizhar Peled Praised the vigilance of the police and soldiers, saying that “capturing the explosives and neutralizing them before they reached their destination may have saved lives.”