Bombing attempt on Jerusalem light rail foiled

By JONATHAN BENEDEK

(TPS) — Jerusalem’s light rail service was temporarily suspended on Sunday morning when police officers arrested a Palestinian man carrying a bag filled with pipe bombs as he attempted to board the train in downtown Jerusalem.

“Thanks to the vigilance of security for the light rail of the Jerusalem municipality, a major attack was prevented,” said Jerusalem’s mayor Nir Barkat shortly after the attempted attack. “We can be proud of the security of the Jerusalem Municipality and the policeman in Jerusalem for their great devotion and willingness to risk their lives to save the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

The suspect, a man in his 20s from the Palestinian town of Beit Ula southwest of Jerusalem, was spotted by a security guard on duty at the Jaffa Center light-rail stop as he carried a bag that appeared to contain suspicious items. When the guard approached the suspect and inspected the bag, he saw an explosive device and immediately notified police.

“(The security guard) approached him (the suspect), he spoke to him, and he didn’t answer,” explained Jerusalem Police Commander Yoram Halevy during a press conference at the scene. “He opened the bag and discovered a relatively big bomb that was to be strapped to the terrorist.”

Large numbers of police officers arrived at the scene in minutes. They defused the explosive device, closed the area to traffic, and suspended light-rail service from the French Hill neighborhood north of Jerusalem’s Old City to the Central Bus Station.

Upon further investigation, police found several more pipe bombs in the suspect’s bag.

“We summoned a police sapper to confirm that it was definitely an explosive, and it was a big explosive made up of 3 smaller ones that could have potentially caused immense damage to innocent people and property,” continued Halevy.

Security sources added that several knives were also discovered in the suspect’s bag, to be used for stabbing passengers on the light-rail after which the suspect planned to detonate his explosive device.

The suspect is currently being interrogated by police and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) investigators.

Jerusalem’s light rail service returned to normal, shortly thereafter. “Our message to the public is to continue the routine, to be vigilant and to never give in to terrorism,” Barkat said. “We must pursue the terrorists everywhere without compromise and without restraint, while continuing to develop and strengthen Jerusalem.”