Terror attack thwarted at West Bank checkpoint

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli border police thwarted a terror attack at a West Bank checkpoint.

The police stopped a suspicious-looking vehicle at the Beitar Illit checkpoint in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc south of Jerusalem.

The car was stopped after the driver approached the checkpoint in a slow and suspicious manner.

A search of the car turned up a large explosive device hooked up to several gas canisters.

The car and device were then turned over to the bomb squad.

Earlier this month, a car was stopped in the northern West Bank near Ariel on Route 5, a major highway that runs from the West Bank to the suburbs of Tel Aviv, after suspicious objects were spotted inside. A gas tank and an explosive charge were found in a bag in the vehicle.