A Palestinian man armed with a Carlo submachine gun and two pipe bombs filled with nails was arrested in the mixed Arab and Jewish city of Jaffa. The man, 19, of the West Bank town of Nablus, told police he was planning to commit a major terror attack in Tel Aviv in a crowded area.
The man, who did not have a permit to enter Israel, was detained after arousing the suspicion of officers from the Israel Police Yasam reconnaissance unit near Jaffa’s iconic clock tower. He was taken for questioning by the Shin Bet security agency. Other people suspected of assisting the would-be terrorist were arrested near the scene.
Police commissioner Kobi Shabtai said at the scene that the man “was looking to commit a massacre.” He reportedly was known to police, after being arrested in April for trying to bring a knife onto the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.