Four Arab youths aged 17-20 were arrested today for possession of explosives which the police believe was intended for sabotage during Israel’s Independence Day celebrations. They were apprehended near their homes, just north of Jerusalem. One was caught in the act of stuffing matchheads into pipes to produce pipe bombs.
None of the suspects has a police record and the authorities believe they were acting on the orders of someone else. The police are investigating a possible link between the youths and recent arson to cars on French Hill and at the Hebrew University’s Mr. Scopus campus. Special emphasis is being given to security precautions in the capital on Independence Day where some 70 of the 300 scheduled national events will be held. About 10,000 security personnel will be on duty. Police leave has been cancelled and the armed forces have been put in a state of readiness.
A small homemade bomb caused slight damage to an empty bus near Masada on the Dead Sea yesterday. Police said no one was injured. Meanwhile, police have found the Katyusha rocket launcher used to lob shells into a Jerusalem neighborhood on Saturday. There were no clues to the identity of the perpetrators.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
