A Palestinian man about to enter Israel was searched by police who found seven explosive devices and other weapons strapped to him.

The Nablus resident was stopped at a checkpoint in the Jordan Valley. He had seven homemade bombs and several knives and shells with him, and it is believed he planned to attack Israelis during the Passover festival.

The 19-year-old was stopped after setting off a metal detector at the checkpoint, in what officials said was the third time a would-be attacker has been apprehended there in recent months.

Israeli security officials are on high alert in anticipation of Sunday’s fly-in, when hundreds of anti-Israel activists are expected to land in the country.

There have been attacks on Israelis during Passover in previous years, including a suicide bomb that killed 30 guests at a seder in the Park Hotel in Netanya in 2002, and another at a Tel Aviv shwarma restaurant in 2006 that left 11 dead.