Itongadol.- Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch (Likud Beytenu) lauded Border Policemen on Friday for thwarting an attempted suicide bomber from infiltrating Israel.
Aharonovitch commended the forces after they detained a bomb-laden Palestinian man earlier Friday at Tapuah Junction in the northern West Bank, saying "their vigilance and professional work resulted in the capture of a terrorist with an explosive belt, preventing an attack and saving lives, I am proud of them and exceptional work."
The suicide bomber wore heavy clothing on a hot day and walked in a strange manner, arousing the suspicions of Border Police officers at the junction. After being forced to lie on the ground and reveal 12 pipe bombs wrapped around his body and connected by wires. Border Police called in a bomb disposal team, which dismantled the belt.
The Palestinian was then arrested and taken for questioning while a bomb squad dismantled the explosives and submitted the devices for further inspections to determine the explosive material which was used.
The terrorist was identified as a Palestinian man in his 20\’s, who arrived at the junction from the Nablus area. Security forces believe that the bomber intended to strike the soldiers at the check point but are also investigating other possibilities
The security forces have closed the area off to traffic.
In 2012 at the Tapuah Junction, an Israeli civilian Evyatar Borovsky was stabbed to death. In a separate incident, Border Police apprehended three Palestinian men and found eight pipe bombs, a pistol and a knife when searching their car.