Police find explosive belt to be used by Jihad militants in Taibeh mosque
[where 1,500 were to pray]

[IMRA: A police offical said on Israel Radio this morning that the religious
court ("Sharia") for the Israeli Arab city of Taibeh meets in this mosque
and that as many as 1,500 attend Friday services there. The official praised
the mayor of Taibeh for cooperating with police to expedite the work of the
sappers.]

By Roni Singer and Jalal Bana, Haaretz Correspondents, and Haaretz Service 7
Feb 2003

An explosive belt that was to be used by the two Islamic Jihad militants
that were caught on their way to carry out a suicide bombing was found in a
mosque in the Arab town of Taibeh late Thursday night by Sharon region
police.

The belt was found in the mosque's toilet and police sappers worked for
hours to remove the belt out of the mosque and detonated it, due to the
sanctity of the building.

The militants, who were travelling in a Palestinian cab carrying five
passengers, were apprehended Thursday evening by IDF soldiers after the
region had been placed earlier on high alert following intelligence warnings
of a possible terrorist infiltration. The terrorists were caught at a
roadblock near the village of Talusa, north of the West Bank city of Nablus.

The two men, from the Nablus area, were identified by Palestinian sources as
Shadi Bahalul and Tareq Baslat. It is believed that the two wanted men
intended to cross the Green Line near Tul Karm.

"The very fact that they hid an explosive belt in a mosque in Taibeh is an
extremely grave development." David Baker, an official in the prime
minister's office said Thursday. "It just goes to show what extraordinary
steps Palestinian terrorists are ready to take in order to kill as many
Israelis whenever and wherever possible," he said.

Earlier in the evening IDF troops killed a Hamas activist east of the city
of Taibeh, on the Green Line. It is still not clear if the two incidents are
connected. Police also closed off the road between the Haroeh and Hefer
junction in the West Bank after a suspicious figure was seen in the area.

A unit of reserve soldiers noticed the man, who arose their suspicions. The
man didn't respond to their request to halt, and was subsequently shot. It
is still unclear if he is terrorist or an innocent bystander

Border Police officers were scouting the area and had set up roadblocks at
the entrance to towns in the area. The search effort was focusing on the
area around the village of Taibeh, and there were long traffic jams in the
Sharon region as a result of the roadblocks.

Earlier in the afternoon, Border Policemen shot dead a man who stabbed an
officer on the Wadi Ara Road, near the Israeli Arab village of Umm al Fahm.

Border Police officers patrolling the region had considered the man to be
suspicious-looking and asked him to stop for questioning. The man, an Umm
al-Fahm resident, approached the officers and stabbed one of them in the
torso, lightly wounding him. Other officers then shot him dead.

Police checked to see if the man was carrying explosive material, but did
not find any. Some of his neighbors reported that he was mentally unstable.

Police commissioner Shlomo Aharonisky said that the assailant had also
attempted to grab one of the officer's weapons, and that the police reacted
appropriately to the apparent threat.