Funeral services were held here today for police Inspector Albert Levi and Captain Shmuel Shiff who were fatally wounded last night while dismantling a bomb planted by terrorists in central Jerusalem. The bomb, estimated by police to have contained about two kilos of TNT, detonated at 9:50 p.m. local time in a blast that was heard in distant suburbs. Four other security men were injured and required hospitalization. Two were discharged from the hospital today.
Police, who set up roadblocks and checkpoints in various parts of the city immediately, after the explosion, have arrested scores of suspects for questioning. Some have been released but the round-up of others was continuing today.
Levi, 36, who died at Hadassah Hospital, had served on the bomb squad for nine years and was regarded as one of the best sappers in the Israeli police force. Born in Morocco, he came to Israel at the age of nine. Shiff, 45. who came to Israel from Rumania in 1946, was pronounced dead shortly after he was brought to Shaarei Zedek Hospital.
CONCEALED IN A PAINT CAN
According to police; the bomb was concealed in a paint can which also contained a quantity of nails, apparently for shrapnel effect. It was spotted by a local resident who reported a suspicious object to police at about 9:30 p.m. Within five minutes, Levi, Shiff and other security personnel were on the scene. Residents were evacuated from the street and the block was cordoned off.
The bomb detonated as Levi, reportedly, was lifting the lid off the paint tin. Police believe that the terrorists intended to plant the bomb in a heavily trafficked area of the city but were frightened off by the presence of security guards in public places. They left the bomb “anywhere” and fled, a police source said.
Levi was interviewed in the press several months ago about his dangerous occupation. He was quoted as saying that there were three principles vital to the life of a sapper: “knowledge, caution and, most important, luck.” He told the interviewer that “with time you gain more knowledge; caution develops with experience. But the trouble remains with luck. You have no way whatsoever to control this.”
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