Israel arrests Palestinian dentist for bomb attack

 Israel said Sunday it arrested a 36-year-old Palestinian dentist for allegedly committing a bomb attack at a West Bank checkpoint in May, wounding an army officer.

A statement by the army's spokesperson unit identified the suspect as Samer Mahmoud Daud al-Khalbiyah from Abu Dis, a Palestinian town east of Jerusalem.

He was arrested in a joint operation of the army and the Shin Bet security service. The forces also arrested al-Khalbiyah's father, a 64-year-old hospital nurse, his brother, 36-year-old dentist, and a third dentist, non-relative, from Qalandia, a town outside Jerusalem. The statement did not elaborate on their alleged involvement in the incident.

According to the military, al-Khalbiyah was responsible for "planting and detonating explosive devices" on a road near the Hizma checkpoint outside Jerusalem on May 5.

"During the investigation, it was revealed that the assailants had prepared 56 additional pipe bombs in order to carry out similar attacks," the statement read.

A separate notice by the Shin Bet said the suspects were not members in any political organization and had no previous security convictions.

The attack came amidst a nine-month-long Palestinian uprising. At least 205 Palestinians and 32 Israelis have been killed since the beginning of the unrest in mid-September.

Some of the Palestinians died after clashes ensued with Israeli security forces during protests. Others were gunned down after allegedly committing -- or trying to commit -- an attack against Israelis.

Israel accuses the Palestinian National Authority of "inciting" the violence, while the Palestinians say it is the result of 49 years of Israeli occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, where more than five million Palestinians live, and where they wish to establish a Palestinian state.
Source:XINHUA