Arrest of men suspected of plotting terror attack near Jerusalem said to be based on fake alert

The person who called in an alert about an imminent terrorist attack yesterday has admitted the warning was false, after it led to the arrest of two people on Route 1 outside Jerusalem last night, Channel 12 reports.

According to Channel 12, the two people arrested near the Latrun Junction had no weapons in their car, and their interrogation indicated the initial alert was false.

Following the interrogation, law enforcement today detained the person who had called in the alert, and he confirmed having called in a fake warning, the network says.

Nonetheless, both the caller and the two people who were arrested last night are still under Shin Bet investigation to ensure none of the three are terrorists, Channel 12 says, quoting a security official as saying that “in such a sensitive period, we don’t take any risks — every unusual indication is checked rigorously.”

Other Hebrew media outlets also reported earlier today that law enforcement in central Israel had made a third arrest based on intelligence from the interrogation of last night’s Route 1 detainees.

Those outlets described the third detainee as a suspected accomplice in the purported terror plot.