Israelis foil bombing attempt

LATRUN JUNCTION, Israel – With sirens wailing and blue lights flashing, Israeli police chased a van with explosives on a main highway Tuesday and captured a group of Palestinians who defense officials say planned a major bombing ahead of national elections.

Israel’s parliamentary election is set for March 28; Palestinian attacks have altered the outcome of past balloting.

After chasing down the group halfway from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, jittery security forces extended a closure on the West Bank and Gaza through election day.

AP Television News video showed the 10 Palestinians removed from the van at gunpoint, stripped to their underwear and forced to lie facedown in a field next to the highway, arms extended. Sappers took away a 15-pound bomb, concealed in a bag.

Jerusalem police commander Ilan Franco said the suspected bomber in the group had ties to the militant group Islamic Jihad. Authorities said he planned to blow himself up in central Israel, without pinpointing the location.

A successful attack could have had serious repercussions. The centrist Kadima Party, which holds a wide lead in opinion polls, has been accused by its hawkish rivals of being too soft on the Palestinians.

A deadly bombing just before the 1984 election upset all predictions and handed victory to the hard-liners.

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, a Kadima candidate, told the Israeli Ynet Web site that Iran is pushing Islamic Jihad to carry out an attack before the balloting. “We know that Iran transferred in the last month $1.8 million to the Islamic Jihad organization in order to carry out terrorist attacks against Israel,” he said.