Pipe bombs were launched from the Palestinian side of Rachel’s Tomb in an apparent attempt to attack Jewish worshipers at the holy site.
By: TPS and World Israel News
Border police officers located two pipe bombs thrown in the vicinity of Rachel’s Tomb at the northern entrance to Bethlehem early Tuesday afternoon.
The pipe bombs, thrown from the Palestinian side of the security fence at the spot, failed to explode. A police sapper neutralized the devices.
In a separate incident, IDF troops arrested three Palestinians armed with pipe bombs near a Jewish community in Samaria on Tuesday, the army stated.
A soldier monitoring surveillance equipment in the vicinity of Elon Moreh and the Palestinian village of Deir al-Hatab identified the suspicious activity, after which the three Palestinians were arrested.
A search of the suspects turned up four pipe bombs, after which the men were transferred to the Shin Bet security service for questioning.
The pipe bomb attempt at Rachel’s Tomb and the detention of the three additional pipe bomb-wielding Palestinians followed Israeli troops’ arrest of 21 Palestinian suspects and the discovery of an illegal Palestinian weapons manufacturing workshop, said the military.
The arrests resulted in rioting in two Palestinian villages, which included rock throwing, Molotov cocktail hurling, and attempts to toss explosives at IDF troops.