Israeli police continued investigations in the wake of a thwarted bombing attack which occurred outside of a light rail station in Jerusalem on Sunday, as a Jerusalem magistrate court imposed a gag order on the case on Monday.
According to a statement released by Israeli police spokesperson Luba al-Samri, the gag order on Israeli media would be effective until Aug. 17, to prevent publicizing information that could help identify the suspects.
According to Israeli news sites, security guards stationed at the light rail on Jaffa Street in Jerusalem approached a suspicious man Sunday morning, and after searching his bag discovered several pipe bombs and knives on his person.
The suspect, said to be in his 20s, was apprehended and later identified by Israeli media as a Palestinian resident of the village of Beit Ula in the southern occupied West Bank district of Hebron.
After interrogation, the suspect reportedly revealed his intentions to set off several pipe bombs along the light rail.
In April, some 21 were injured when an explosive device detonated on an Israeli bus in southern Jerusalem. The attack was carried out by a 19-year-old Palestinian reportedly affiliated with the Hamas movement. He later succumbed to the wounds sustained in the explosion.
Scores of Palestinians were arrested in raids by Israeli forces following the attack.
It was first attack of its kind in years, although bus bombings were recurrent during the Second Intifada, which lasted from 2000 to 2005.
However, the current wave of unrest which has spread across the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel since October has been overwhelmingly marked by a surge of small-scale attacks and alleged attacks, carried out by Palestinian individuals predominantly on Israeli military targets.
More than 220 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers since October and 32 Israelis have been killed by Palestinians.
