JERUSALEM, March 31 (JTA) — The Palestinian Authority has transferred the remains of a car that blew up earlier this week in the West Bank to Israeli police. Israeli security officials believe the two people killed in the blast near Ramallah were Hamas terrorists who were preparing a bomb that would be used in an attack against Israel. Israeli police are investigating whether the car was being booby-trapped or being used to transport a bomb into Israel. There have been recent warnings from Israeli intelligence officials that Hamas members are planning to carry out a massive attack in Israel, possibly with a car bombing involving large amounts of explosives. Palestinian Authority officials told their Israeli counterparts that it was possible the blast was carried out by common criminals, not terrorists. Palestinian security sources quoted by the Israeli daily Ha’aretz said one of the two people killed in the blast was a security official who entered a house adjacent to where the blast occurred to look for casualties — and that he was fatally injured when the roof collapsed.
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