Border Police officers on Thursday night spotted a suspicious vehicle carrying two Palestinian Arabs, residents of Hevron and Beit Jala, at the Ein Yael crossing in the Jerusalem area.
A search of the vehicle, which had Israeli license plates, discovered a pipe bomb, a knife and tens of thousands of shekels in checks and cash. The vehicle was stopped and a police sapper was called to the scene to detonate the bomb.
The two suspects were arrested and transferred to security forces for questioning in order to determine their motives.
The Israel Police said that "Border Police soldiers and police officers are deployed around the clock in the Jerusalem area to locate and inspect vehicles and suspects in order to protect the lives of Israeli citizens."