Israel Railway train near Tel Aviv. Photo: Mainlinediesels.net.

On Monday, an undisclosed individual apparently handed Border Police guarding Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem a journal documenting plans to mount a mass terror attack on a Haifa-Tel Aviv commuter train during the height of the Tuesday evening rush hour.

The Israeli soldiers quickly alerted the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) to the purported plot.

The plan was to have included six armed terrorists dressed in IDF paratroop brigades uniforms, who would board five separate cars on the packed rail line at the Binyamina station, south of Haifa, and then rake the compartments with gunfire while the train was en route.

“The speedy takeover will begin at 17:55 along the length of the five-car line, and the aim is to kill as many passengers as possible,” the notes read.

The army censor, at first, refused a request by Israel’s 0404 news site to publish the report, but later relented when it was confirmed that the information was “unreliable.”

But while the mega-terror attack was dismissed, earlier in the day, in a genuine security breach, security personnel on the Jerusalem Light Rail subdued two Arabs who refused to provide identification, and subsequently attacked the guards.

Witnesses said the suspects were screaming in order to to create a commotion: “No one attacked them. They attacked and were arrested; they were screaming like crazy.”

The capital has suffered months of Arab stoning and vandalism attacks on the system, which serves all of the city’s residents. About half of the rolling stock is out of commission, as are several stations which pass through Arab neighborhoods in the city’s northern suburbs.

“The train is within a few minutes (walk) from our house,” one couple told Ynet News. “But like our neighbors, we prefer to get off here, far from home and before the train passes through the Arab neighborhoods, and take a shuttle bus to our neighborhood.”

According to City Pass, which runs the system, “When we requisitioned the cars, they were manufactured to offer protection against rocks and Molotov cocktails,” said a statement. “Fortunately, therefore, there have been no casualties until now; but this doesn’t ease the minds of the passengers.

“Around 140,000 people use the light train on a daily basis,” according to City Pass. “As a result of the events during the months of July and August, we’ve seen a drop of approximately 20 percent in the number of passengers along the line. The drop stems from the fact that many passengers are afraid to travel by train to Pisgat Ze’ev through Shuafat, so they alight before then and travel to the neighborhood in buses that don’t pass through the Arab neighborhoods.”

Watch a cellphone camera video clip of the altercation: