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Itongadol.- An East Jerusalem man in his 20s who is suspected of planning to carry out a terror attack in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, has been caught, police say Tuesday.
The suspect told family members he was going to carry out an extreme act.
He was caught on the corner of Sokolov and Ahad Haam streets in the city.
Investigators are continuing to search for possible accomplices, but police say the danger to Herzliya residents is over.
According to reports, the suspect fought with his father before leaving his family home in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Tsur Baher saying he planned to carry out an attack.
Dozens of officers had combed the town, a Tel Aviv suburb, since the morning, when the suspect evaded a police checkpoint in Jerusalem. The car was later found abandoned in the center of Herzliya.
Herzliya Mayor Moshe Fadlon said he had ordered a massive increase in security at schools, kindergartens and other places where large numbers of people might gather.
Police called on the public to remain vigilant and contact the police if they saw anything or anyone suspicious.
Located just north of Tel Aviv, Herzliya is home to a large business and high-tech district where several of the country’s largest firms have offices.
Many foreign diplomats and other high-level officials also call the seaside Herzliya Pituach neighborhood home.
Officials said the search was unrelated to an ongoing manhunt for an Israeli Arab man wanted for opening fire in a Tel Aviv bar Friday, killing 2.
That ongoing search has focused on north Tel Aviv’s Ramat Aviv Gimel neighborhood, where Nishat Milhem worked before the Friday attack on the Simta bar in the center of the city.
However, on Monday officials admitted Milhem, considered armed and dangerous, may have fled Tel Aviv.
The attack in Tel Aviv has touched a raw nerve in the normally laid-back city, setting residents on edge amid the ongoing search for Milhem.
Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai implored residents on Monday to return to their routines. But the city remained subdued Monday, and attendance at many schools was sparse.
Oren Helman, a resident of Tel Aviv’s upscale Ramat Aviv neighborhood, where the search has focused, said he sent his two young daughters to school, but there were few other parents dropping children off. The few who came to school were not allowed to play outside in the playground.
“The parents who send their kids to school are worried. Those who don’t are scared,” he said.