BICOM

Israeli security forces yesterday prevented an apparent attempt to carry out a bomb attack following three days of unrest in the West Bank which appeared to calm yesterday.

Border Police officers at a roadblock near Beitar Illit in the West Bank stopped a man driving a car who appeared to be acting suspiciously. When he refused to stop the car and attempted to drive off, a scuffle ensued and the driver was pulled from the vehicle. The car was found to contain pipe bombs, gas canisters, explosives and a detonator. Police stopped traffic in the area as sappers neutralised the explosives and the suspect was taken into custody. Israel Police chief Yohanan Danino said that the Border Police officers had “acted heroically.”

The incident was an isolated one on an otherwise quiet day in the West Bank. It followed three days of violence and tension, which erupted on Thursday night when an estimated 10,000 Palestinians congregated at Kalandiya, between Ramallah and Jerusalem, in what was estimated as perhaps the largest West Bank demonstration during the last 10 years. Hundreds clashed with policemen who used riot dispersal means and one Palestinian was reported to have been killed. Similar, although smaller, incidents took place at other West Bank locations.

Thursday’s clashes were followed by additional violence on Friday, the final Friday of Ramadan, during which a further eight Palestinians reportedly died. Violent confrontations took place in Hebron, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Kalkilya, Tulkarm, Nablus, Jenin and elsewhere. The violence appears to have been sparked by Israel’s continuing military operation in the Gaza Strip, which has raised tensions among Palestinians in the West Bank too. There have also been sporadic riots in Jerusalem and beyond since the murder last month of a Palestinian boy, in an apparent revenge attack by Jewish Israeli extremists for the recent murder of three Israeli teenagers. However, the violence appeared to calm yesterday with no major West Bank disturbances reported.