Nablus: Explosive teddy bears found in lab
Joint paratrooper, Shin Bet force uncovers explosives lab in West Bank city, finds toys with wires hanging from them, apparently slated to be used as deadly explosives
The lab was detonated in a controlled manner, and there were no reports of injuries.
The forces also found in the explosives lab three belts made from cloth, ready to contain explosives, a hollow coat used for hiding explosives, and 20 light bulbs and light sockets used for activating explosives.
Test tubes, a hollow gas tank, hollow pipes, batteries, 40 liters of hydrogen peroxide and ohms were also found in the lab.
Since the beginning of the year, Israel Defense Forces soldiers operating in Nablus hit 41 gunmen who were planning, according to the defense establishment, to hit IDF troops or Israeli citizens.
Some 320 wanted terror suspects were arrested in the West Bank city and its surroundings since the beginning of the year, most of them affiliated with Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Fatah and Hamas.
At the beginning of the year, another explosives lab was uncovered in the city's casba. The forces located the lab in an abandoned building after receiving intelligence.
Captain Assaf Cabra, a company commander at the Haruv battalion, addressed the operation at the time: "We launched a regimental operation in Nablus, which included searches, seizing weapons and arrests. We uncovered the explosive lab in the casba, which contained between 40 to 50 kilograms (88 to 110 pounds) of explosives for preparing explosive devices."
The defense establishment reported that the terror organizations were working with greater vigor to carry out terror attacks from the city, and in the past months many explosive belts were captured in the area and gunmen were arrested on their way to carry out attacks in Israel.
