Police on Friday night arrested a 19-year-old man suspected of plotting an attack against police officers, according to the Central District police spokeswoman. The suspect, a resident of the Palestinian territories, had entered Israel illegally.
The suspect was carrying a knife and a letter stating his intention to attack police officers. At the time of his arrest, he "was walking around the Tzur Yitzhak Junction in a suspicious manner, with a stone in his hand," the spokeswoman added.
The arrest occurred in the wake of numerous terror attacks and attempted attacks against civilians and police officers carried out by Palestinian residents of the West Bank that have left almost 20 Israelis dead in recent months.
Two days earlier, a man was shot while attempting to stab a police officer at the Temple Mount, or the Aqsa Mosque compound, in Jerusalem's Old City.
Hours before the attempted stabbing, Al-Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh was shot and killed during a firefight between IDF forces and Palestinian gunmen in Jenin.
Maariv reported that Israel Police Commissioner Maj.-Gen. Kobi Shabtai announced a large operation involving thousands of members of the Israeli security services, including the police, the IDF and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) combining intelligence from around the country and on roads near the Green Line.
Tzvi Joffre contributed to this report.
