Israel Foils Bombers, Bans Gaza Vehicles

Police banned Gaza Strip cars from Israel on Tuesday after two Muslim militants arrested with an explosives-rigged Gaza truck confessed that they were planning a suicide attack.

Police said the men were members of the Muslim militant group Hamas, which has carried out several suicide attacks in Israel. The men told interrogators that they had planned to detonate the truck in the Israeli town of Beersheba.

Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, unhappy with Palestinian authorities’ failure to crack down on Islamic militants who oppose peace with Israel, postponed a ministerial committee meeting planned for today to discuss Arab prisoner releases, Israel Radio reported.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat condemned the bombing attempt, saying it will hurt Palestinians by preventing Arab laborers from working in Israel.

Two policemen stopped the truck Monday evening near Tel Sheva, a Bedouin Arab village in southern Israel, because it bore Gaza license plates.

The truck was rigged with at least several dozen pounds of explosives packed in cartons and plastic crates. Newspaper reports put the figure at 440 pounds.