Pipe bomb (Archive photo)
Photo: IDF
Inspection station at checkpoint (Archive photo)
Photo: AFP
"It is a feeling of great satisfaction; this is why we work so hard," said Corporal Guy Faraj, a member of a group of Haruv Brigade soldiers who detained a Palestinian teen carrying three pipe bombs at a checkpoint near Nablus on Sunday
Thwarted Attack
Efrat Weiss
Soldiers detain youth carrying three pipe bombs meant to be used in terror attack in Tel Aviv; officials say terror groups in Nablus intensify efforts to launch attacks
An IDF investigation revealed that the youth was ordered to transfer the explosives from one side of the checkpoint to the other and hand them over to the would-be suicide bomber. The man was supposed to assemble an explosive belt using the pipe bombs and other materials, and travel to Tel Aviv to carry out the attack within the next 24 hours.
"A 15-year-old Palestinian stood by the inspection station and then tried to pass through without being noticed," Faraj, who has been manning the checkpoint for the past two months, told Ynet.
"A friend who was securing me spotted him and asked that he place his belongings on the table so that we could check them. The teen placed a black bag on the table and I asked him in Arabic to open it. In response he pushed the bag in my direction, so that I would open it. When I opened the bag I saw three pipe bombs with wires protruding from them," he said.
"My instinct was to duck and hide. I yelled toward my company commander to approach the booth, and at the same time I shouted 'freeze the checkpoint'. I instructed the soldiers to clear the crowd and the vehicles. I don't know how I mustered the courage."
Faraj said he then examined the bombs to see whether they were connected to a cell phone or an activation switch.
"I was relieved to find a switch, meaning the bombs had to be set off manually," he said. "Within a minute the checkpoint was completely sealed off, the teen was detained and sappers detonated the bombs. It was important for me to look out for my fellow fighters," he said.