Would-be Jerusalem bomber acted strangely, says guard who stopped him

A security guard who brought down a Palestinian trying to board the Jerusalem light rail on Sunday morning said he approached the would-be attacker when he noticed him acting strangely while waiting at a stop on the central Jaffa Road.

“I saw a guy with a hat, glasses and a bag on his back. I thought that something about him was not okay and I went over to him,” the guard, who was not named, told Channel 10 news. “I asked him to take off his bag and he refused, and so I turned him around, put him against the wall and checked him.”

“In the backpack, I found a bag and inside that was an explosive device,” he said. “I pushed him to the ground.”

A sapper who happened to be passing said he heard cries of “terrorist,” and ran over to help out and “take care of the bomb.”

Other sappers were also called to the scene. Jaffa Road and the adjacent King George Street were closed.

A police statement said sappers disarmed “three pipe bombs wired together.” Mobile phones and knives were also found in the backpack.

The man was identified as a Palestinian in his 20s from the Hebron-area village of Beit Ula in the West Bank. The suspect was arrested and and taken in for questioning.

A video from the scene shows police pointing their guns at the suspect, who lay on the ground near the train stop. A second clip shows sappers strip-searching him, apparently for explosives.

“This morning, thanks to the vigilance of the light rail security guards, a large terror attack was averted,” said Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat. “Our message to the public is to return to their normal routines, to remain vigilant, and to never give in to terror.”

Since October, 35 Israelis and four foreign nationals have been killed in a spate of car-ramming, stabbing, shooting, and bombing attacks. Some 215 Palestinians have also been killed. Israel says most of the Palestinians killed were involved in attacks or clashes.