Police chief says ‘large-scale attack’ prevented in Tel Aviv
Police commissioner Kobi Shabtai says the armed Palestinian man arrested in Jaffa earlier was planning a major terror attack.
Shabtai says the suspect arrived at the scene with a loaded ‘Carlo’ submachine gun and two pipe bombs filled with nails.
The commissioner says the 19-year-old from Nablus admitted he was on the way to carry out an attack in Tel Aviv, and was looking for a crowded place.
“He was looking to commit a massacre,” Shabtai says.
He thanks the Yasam officers who “prevented a large-scale deadly terror attack” by noticing the man and questioning him.
Police spokesman: Terror attack averted
Police spokesman Eli Levy says that police prevented a terror attack with the arrest of a Palestinian man in Jaffa.
Levy tells Channel 12 news others have also been detained as police probe the chain of events that brought the Nablus man to Jaffa as well as following other investigatory threads.
According to the channel, the suspect spent four months in Israeli prison after being caught with a knife on the Temple Mount.
Police to deploy in force across Tel Aviv to look for more suspects — report
Police are set to deploy additional forces throughout Tel Aviv this evening amid a manhunt for anyone who may have helped a heavily armed Palestinian man caught in Jaffa and suspected of planning a terror attack, Walla news reports.
Thursday night is among the busiest in Tel Aviv, the country’s nightlife capital, and a number of attacks have taken place in recent years targeting those out at bars, clubs and cafes.
Tensions have been ramping up in the West Bank in recent weeks amid an Israeli military campaign to crack down on terror activity, much of it centered in the northern West Bank.
The offensive was initially launched in the spring following a string of deadly attacks emanating from the northern West Bank that left 19 people in Israel dead. Authorities in the past have spoken of worries regarding copycat attacks during times of increased tensions.
Officers nab armed Palestinian planning ‘large-scale’ terror attack in Tel Aviv
A Palestinian man carrying a makeshift firearm and two bombs was arrested by officers in Jaffa on Thursday, before admitting he sought to commit a major terror attack in Tel Aviv, police said.
According to police, the 19-year-old resident of Nablus, with no permit to enter Israel, aroused the suspicion of officers of the elite police reconnaissance unit Yasam near Jaffa’s clock tower, a major landmark and tourist attraction.
He was detained and found to be carrying a ‘Carlo’ submachine gun and two pipe bombs filled with nails. Police said he had been taken for further questioning by the Shin Bet security agency.
Police commissioner Kobi Shabtai said the teen was planning a major terror attack.
In his initial questioning by officers, the suspect admitted he was on the way to carry out an attack in Tel Aviv, and said he was looking for a crowded place, according to police.
“He was looking to commit a massacre,” Shabtai told reporters at the scene.
Shabtai thanked the Yasam officers who “prevented a large-scale deadly terror attack” by noticing the suspect and questioning him.
The suspect had previously been arrested in April after attempting to bring a knife onto the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. He was tried and sentenced to four months in prison.
Police detained others in the area, however, they were not immediately thought to be suspects who aided the alleged terrorist.
Images released by the police showed what appeared to be a makeshift gun the man was armed with, rather than a Kalashnikov, as police originally reported.
The incident came amid a time of rising violence between Israel and the Palestinians, mostly in the West Bank.
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