Inspectors discovered explosives hidden in a truck, possibly intended for a large-scale terror attack during Israel’s Independence Day, at a checkpoint in the northern West Bank, The Times of Israel reported Wednesday.

In addition to merchandise intended for Israeli settlements, inspectors found explosives in the roof of the truck according to Israel’s Ministry of Defense. Sappers defused the bomb.

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman commended the “vigilance and professionalism” of the inspectors, saying that their efforts “led to the exposure of an explosive device and to the thwarting of a large-scale terror attack on our 70th Independence Day.”

The chief of the Defense Ministry’s Crossings Authority, Erez Zidon, said that he was “proud of the inspectors who acted exactly as we would expect, first identifying the suspicious truck and then identifying the smuggling attempt, which turned to be an explosive device — probably meant for a terror attack during Independence Day.”

In a separate incident, a Palestinian man was arrested by police at the Qalandiya checkpoint north of Jerusalem. The man, a resident of Gaza who was apparently living in the West Bank, admitted that he had intended to carry out a stabbing attack.

[Photo: יוחאי עופר / Twitter]