Terror scare shuts down main Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway
Police later say terror suspicion was false alarm, after incident brings traffic to standstill; cops detain 13 unauthorized Palestinian workers in connection with suspected vehicle
Security forces scrambled to put up checkpoints and conduct searches outside Jerusalem on Sunday as authorities working off an intelligence tip hunted down a suspected terror cell thought to be plotting an attack, in what was ultimately a false alarm.
Police said in a statement Sunday evening that a preliminary investigation had ruled out any terrorist activity.
The police statement noted that during the investigation, police detained 13 Palestinians who were in Israel without authorization, who were suspected to have arrived in the vehicle being investigated. The Palestinians, along with their employer, were taken for questioning.
Traffic on Route 1, the main highway linking Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, was brought to a standstill early Sunday afternoon as security forces attempted to nab suspects who were seemingly trying to reach the Tel Aviv area.
One driver was detained near the Latrun interchange outside the central city of Modiin “following an alert received about a suspect vehicle,” police said in an initial statement.
The suspect’s vehicle, a silver Toyota Land Cruiser SUV according to reports, was impounded after being checked by a sapper, according to police. The driver was transferred to the Shin Bet security service for questioning, reports said.
Footage from various areas along the freeway west of Jerusalem showed large numbers of police officers, including members of a quick response counter-terror squad, gathered on the highway as far as Ben Gurion Airport, or walking between lines of idling cars.
Reports in Hebrew-language media claimed that security forces were searching for a second suspect as well, though there was no confirmation.
According to Channel 12 news, police were acting on intelligence regarding alleged plans for an attack by two residents of the Wadi al-Hummus area of East Jerusalem.
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Over Jerusalem, the chop of blades cutting through the air was heard constantly as police helicopters conducted searches from above.
Police also set up checkpoints to perform spot checks at various other locations around Jerusalem, and shut traffic at some crossings between the capital and the West Bank.
Last week, a Palestinian terrorist opened fire on an Israeli bus traveling in the West Bank just south of Jerusalem, killing a 12-year-old boy and wounding three others. The shooter later turned himself in.
Violence has risen sharply in the West Bank since the Gaza war started on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages.
Since then, 42 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank.
Another six members of the security forces were killed in clashes with operatives in the West Bank amid a major counterterrorism offensive that has been accompanied by sharp restrictions on Palestinian movement.
Israeli troops have arrested some 5,250 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank as part of the post-October 7 military operations, including more than 2,050 affiliated with Hamas.
According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, some 800 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in the same span of time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops or terrorists carrying out attacks.
Times of Israel staff and agencies contributed to this report.
