Palestinian arrested with knife in West Bank on Passover eve

Border Police and IDF forces on Monday arrested a Palestinian man armed with a knife and a stun grenade who tried to cross from the West Bank into Jerusalem on the eve of the Passover festival, police said in a statement Thursday.

The suspect, a resident of Qalandiya village in his twenties, was stopped by security forces as he approached the nearby Qalandiya checkpoint, a major crossing point from the West Bank located north of Jerusalem.

A search of his person uncovered the weapons.

The checkpoint has seen a series of security incidents over the past year.

“During an initial investigation, Border Police discovered he apparently intended to carry out an attack,” the statement said.

The Palestinian man also told investigators that he had an accomplice who had not turned up for the planned attack in the capital.

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Police said the second suspect, also from Qalandiya, turned himself in to security forces on Thursday.

“Since the arrest of the first suspect, a number of operations were carried out during the course of the investigation that led this morning to the second suspect, also a resident of Qalandiya, turning himself in, and his arrest for further investigation,” police said.

The detention of the first suspect was extended until April 18, police said.

Police added that thousands of officers would continue to be deployed nationwide until the end of the Passover holiday.

Tens of thousands of people were expected to visit Jerusalem and its Old City during the week-long Passover festival, which began on Monday night. Ahead of the holiday police announced increased deployment of forces as a precaution against attacks since Jewish festivals are favored times for attacks by terror groups.

As it does for almost all major Jewish holidays, the IDF announced last week that it would be shutting down the crossings in the West Bank and Gaza for the duration of the Passover holiday.