A homemade bomb was found on Wednesday two houses away from a house owned by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, police said.
Israeli radio reported on Wednesday that Barak is currently not in the country and that his home, in Cochav Yair near the West Bank town of Qalqilya is empty. He recently moved to well-to-do Tel Aviv suburb, Kfar Shmaryahu.
Police officials found a fire hydrant with a mobile phone attached to it, said police spokesman Gil Kleiman. He added that a bomb squad removed the object from the residential area and blew it up in a controlled explosion.
Police investigators were checking if the device was targeting another senior Israeli official. Justice Oded Mudrick, who had received death threats in the past, resides in Cochav Yair, as does former Mossad chief Danny Yatom.
Security officials had received warnings recently that Palestinian activists were planning an attack in the vicinity of Kochav Ya'ir and the nearby Tzur Yigal settlement. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
