Lapid with the officers who arrested the terrorist
Lapid with the officers who arrested the terroristElad Gutman

Prime Minister Yair Lapid met on Thursday evening with Master Sergeant Muhabou Mengistu and Sergeant Major Sharif Hasson from the Tel Aviv anti-terrorism unit who arrested the terrorist in Jaffa and prevented an attack.

He commended them for their alertness and their determined and swift action.

"The entire State of Israel thanks you for your heroism. You saved many lives. I don’t want to think what would have happened if you hadn’t been nearby," said Lapid.

"Thanks to the work of the Police and the security forces, citizens of Israel can sleep soundly. I’m proud of you all," he added.

The armed Palestinian Arab terrorist who was arrested admitted to authorities after his arrest that he planned to carry out a terror attack in Tel Aviv.

Police found an assault rifle and two pipe bombs in the terrorist’s duffle bag.

After he was placed under arrest, the terrorist told the arresting officers that he was en route to carry a terror attack in Tel Aviv, and was only prevented from doing so by the officers who arrested him.

“I came to carry out a terror attack in Tel Aviv, a place with a lot of people,” the terrorist said.

The terrorist, a native of the Palestinian Authority-administered city of Shechem (Nablus) in Samaria, was illegally residing in Israel at the time of his arrest.