The incident comes with tensions already high over violence which has worsened in the Israeli-occupied West Bank this year.

The last anti-Israeli suicide blast occurred in Jerusalem almost seven years ago and wounded 21 people.

"During searches in northern Israel, security forces neutralised a terrorist armed with an explosive belt and multiple weapons in a vehicle," the army said.

That came after "an explosive device was detonated adjacent to the Megiddo junction on Monday, severely injuring an Israeli civilian", it tweeted, referring to an intersection of highways about 35 kilometres (22 miles) southeast of Haifa and several kilometres from the West Bank.

"An initial inquiry suggests that the terrorist crossed from Lebanon into Israel this week," the military said, adding: "The possible involvement of the Hezbollah terrorist army is under review."

Iran-backed Shiite group Hezbollah, considered a "terrorist" organisation by many Western countries, has a stronghold in southern Lebanon. The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) acts as a buffer between Lebanon and Israel and operates near the border.

Monday's incident had been subjected to an army-imposed information blackout that was lifted Wednesday evening.

"He could have used the explosive belt in the first attack but chose not to," the army said in a press briefing.

"Our assumption is that he was aiming to conduct another terrorist attack," perhaps before committing suicide, it added.

The suspect allegedly had access to other weapons as well as the explosive vest.

Neither his identity nor nationality were released.

- Intercepted -

The suspected attacker is believed to have asked a driver to pick him up to take him back towards the north of the country, but he was intercepted on the way, according to the army.

The driver, whose identity was not revealed, is currently under interrogation but "many questions are going unanswered", it added.

UNIFIL was set up in 1978 to monitor the withdrawal of Israeli forces after they invaded Lebanon in reprisal for a Palestinian attack. Israel and Lebanon remain technically at war.

Israel and Hezbollah fought a devastating war in 2006 after the group captured two Israeli soldiers.

In October last year, Lebanon and Israel said they had struck an "historic" deal to resolve a maritime border dispute involving offshore gas fields after years of US-mediated talks.

That led Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah to say the group would end an "exceptional" mobilisation against Israel after threatening to attack for months.

In the West Bank, occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War, violence intensified last year but has surged during the tenure of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government which took office in December, a coalition with ultra-Orthodox Jewish and extreme-right allies.

Since the start of the year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of 81 Palestinian adults and children, including militants and civilians.

Thirteen Israelis, including three children and one policeman, and one Ukrainian civilian have been killed over the same period, according to an AFP tally based on official sources from both sides.

Announcement of the incident in Israel's north came as Netanyahu prepared to leave on an official visit to Germany, which has been shortened by a day. His office said he was closely following "the security developments."