IDF Arrests 13 Suspects Accused of Plotting Major Terrorist Attack

There were two major arrests on highways outside of Jerusalem Monday, both held up traffic for miles. The two incidents may be related, with one being an arrest of one individual and the other an arrest of 13.

The suspect, who was in Israel illegally and linked to a criminal gang, tried to escape police by crashing his car into other vehicles. Officers responded by blocking his path and then using axes to break his car windows and take him into custody. This arrest was part of an investigation by the Border Police’s central unit. According to the police, the suspect’s vehicle, associated with a burglary ring, was identified at the Harel Tunnel on Highway 1, leading to the blockade and arrest attempt.

Earlier, thirteen suspects who entered Israel illegally from the West Bank were accused of plotting a terrorist attack were arrested on Route 6 on Monday morning.

The road was blocked to all traffic heading north from the Horesh interchange. In dramatic footage, the suspects are shown exiting the vehicle with their hands raised and then lying on the road as directed by Israeli police officers. One of the suspects, a Palestinian living in Israel illegally, was taken into custody by the Shin Bet for interrogation to check for links to a potential terror plot. The other 12 individuals, also in the country illegally, were handed over to the police.

Although security officials found nothing inside the vehicle in which they were arrested, an eyewitness told The Jerusalem Post that she saw the trunk of their car open with what looked like explosives and wires inside.