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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Israelis find grenade next to baby

Associated Press

NABLUS, West Bank – A Palestinian woman was found Saturday hiding a hand grenade under her baby during a West Bank arrest raid, an Israeli army officer said.

The woman, Aziza Jawabra, said the grenade was in a jacket pocket and she did not know it was there.

The grenade discovery was made while soldiers searched a house in the town of Assira a-Shimaliya, north of Nablus. Soldiers arrested five fugitives, including Jawabra’s husband, Lt. Col. Arik Chen told the Associated Press. The troops also found 22 pounds of explosives hidden in a suitcase in the house, he added.

Israel has often accused Palestinian militants of hiding explosives in residential areas and of firing on troops from homes.

The soldiers searched Jawabra after they became suspicious of the way she was carrying her month-old son, Yamin. Jawabra was holding the grenade just under the baby’s backside, Chen said. “To see a woman using her baby to hide a grenade is not typical,” Chen said.