Jerusalem police and security officers lowered the alert level Sunday afternoon after several tense hours on high alert following a warning received by intelligence officers that two terrorists were on their way to carry out an attack.
Security checkpoints and roadblocks were set up in a ring around Jerusalem, on Highway 1, the road that connects the capital with Tel Aviv, and in areas around the northern areas of the city.
Police closed off traffic on the Narkiss Bridge which leads to the French Hill junction from Pisgat Ze'ev, Neve Ya'akov and other Jewish neighborhoods in the north of the city.
The police Special Operations unit mobilized wearing helmets and bullet-proof vests, and Magen David Adom ambulances and rescue units moved onto the streets of the capital in anticipation of the possible attack. Special police mobile units and helicopters were also aloft, scanning the city and surrounding area in an effort to locate the would-be attackers.
Magen David Adom director-general Eli Bin announced that medics in the city had moved to alert Level 3. He also said MDA personnel had been placed on Level 2 alert in the central area of the country, which includes the Dan, Yarkon and Ayalon regions.
By mid-afternoon it became clear that the terrorists had not managed to enter the city and the alert level was lowered.
Two young PA would-be attackers were arrested near the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hevron at midday. IDF soldiers discovered knives and rifle bullets while searching the two. They were taken by security personnel for questioning.
IDF soldiers shot and killed a would-be attacker in northern Gaza early Sunday afternoon after the man approached the security fence in a suspicious manner. Local witnesses said the soldiers fired at a group of people, killing one.
Border Police officers also killed a wanted Palestinian Authority terrorist while operating in the PA-controlled town of Tulkarm. A second terrorist wanted terrorist was shot and wounded. He was evacuated to a hospital for treatment and will later be transferred to security personnel for questioning.
Local PA residents identified the dead man as 24-year-old Mohammed Kuzah and the wounded man as Moshir el-Manzouri.
Two armed terrorists were also shot overnight in central Gaza as they approached an IDF patrol. One was a member of the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization, and the other was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).