Israel Matzav

Breaking: Border police stop car bomb at Beitar Ilit checkpoint

A car with Israeli license plates pulled up to the Beitar Ilit checkpoing on Route 375 on Sunday morning in a very suspicious manner. Police stopped the car and discovered a powerful bomb inside.

The security forces identified the vehicle as it was approaching the checkpoint and thought it seemed suspicious that the driver was traveling especially slowly. 

The driver was asked to stop the vehicle.

"He was acting suspiciously, so we had to question him," the officer responsible for the checkpoint said. 

Prior to his arrest the suspect stalled when he was asked to turn off the engine of his vehicle.

At this point, a border policeman put his hand on the keys to turn the vehicle off and the suspect began to drive while half of the policeman's body remained inside. 

After the vehicle proceeded for a few meters, the policeman drew his loaded personal weapon and pointed his gun at the suspect, ordering him to stop. 

After the suspect was arrested, the security forces noticed he was wearing a wig. At this point they discovered the powerful device in the vehicle. 

Border Police sappers were called to the scene to neutralize the device. The suspect was taken in for questioning.

Route 375 is a back road from Beit Shemesh to Jerusalem. The checkpoint is just north of Beitar Ilit, one of the largest Jewish cities in Judea and Samaria. Typically, police waive Israeli vehicles through the checkpoints. Fortunately, this time they did not. 

Labels: Beitar Ilit, car bombs, Israeli border police

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:36 PM