The tunnel was exposed this morning by Border Police fighters from the Jerusalem envelope and Border Police undercover units. During the operational activity at the site, dozens of suspects were arrested. The Shin Bet and security establishment are continuing to investigate the suspect's route of movement and the extent to which terror elements used the tunnel.
The dramatic arrest was carried out last week following focused intelligence from the Shin Bet about two suspects who sought to carry out a terror attack in the immediate timeframe. Following the alert, a "Tequila team" was rushed to the scene and stopped the vehicle near the Latrun interchange. The two had not yet armed themselves and no weapons were seized in the arrest.
Several additional illegal residents were in the vehicle and were taken for questioning, but suspicion of their involvement in terror was ruled out. Following interrogation of the two on the night of the arrest, it became clear that there was an additional suspect involved in planning the attack. Security forces raided a city in central Israel and arrested a third suspect, and the following day a fourth suspect was arrested.
The connection between the tunnel and the Route 1 arrest points to a more complex network of activity than initially assessed. The security establishment is now examining the full scope of use of the underground infrastructure and the elements involved in its operation.
