Police and security services were searching Herzliya after the vehicle, driven by an Arab Israeli motorist who ran a roadblock on the way from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, was found abandoned in the center of the city on Tuesday morning. According to members of the driver’s family, the suspect was planning to carry out a terrorist attack. In light of the reports of a feared attack, Herzliya Mayor Moshe Padlon ordered a massive security reinforcement at the city’s educational institutions and population centers.
However, the suspect’s intentions behind running the blockade remained unclear . Police named the suspect as 20-year-old east Jerusalem resident Ahmed Hatib, who was known to authorities for a previous incident involving a knife. Meanwhile, the Herzliya Municipality urged residents to remain vigilant and inform police at the 100 hotline of any unusual activity or suspicion figures.
Channel 10 reported that there was likely no connection between this incident and the gunman still at large following Friday’s deadly shooting at a bar in central Tel Aviv. In and around Tel Aviv meanwhile, security remained high as well as the search for the fugitive suspect from the Dizengoff Street attack stretched into a fourth day, with police seeming no closer to finding the suspect. Tel Aviv City Hall said municipal security services had stepped up patrols, with an emphasis on schools and daycare centers.
Security was enhanced at creches, nursery schools and educational institutions across the city, including police and private security officers posted outside these buildings throughout the day.
The heightened alert was most pronounced in north Tel Aviv, especially in Ramat Aviv, where a cellphone belonging to the shooter was found on Friday not long after the attack.
The post Security forces searching Herzliya for suspect feared planning terror attack appeared first on News4Security.