Israel’s internal security agency announced Thursday that it had broken up a 20-member Hamas cell that was planning to carry out suicide bombings and shooting attacks in Jerusalem, Haifa, and other major cities.
The West Bank-based cell, which was located in Nablus, was in a state of “high readiness to carry out deadly suicide attacks,” the Shin Bet said in a statement. Almost 15 pounds of explosive material and several M-16 semi-automatic rifles were seized from an explosives workshop near Nablus.
“This investigation shows, once again, the great efforts made by the terrorist organization Hamas to establish infrastructure in the West Bank with the aim of carrying out attacks against Israel,” the statement continued.
The agency did not specify when the arrests of the Hamas members took place.
Earlier this month, the Shin Bet announced the arrest of a separate, seven-man Hamas West Bank cell, which was planning to kidnap an Israeli soldier in order to negotiate the release of a jailed terrorist. The terrorist in question, Ibrahim Abdallah Ranimat, orchestrated the kidnapping and murder of IDF soldier Sharon Edri in 1996, as well as a suicide bombing attack on a Tel Aviv cafe in 1997, which claimed the lives of three women and wounded 48 others.
In addition to its West Bank activity, Hamas has also been beefing up its military capabilities in the Gaza Strip. The terror organization spends an estimated $40 million of its $100 million military budget on building tunnels into Israel that can be used in future terrorist attacks. An Israeli official estimated in July that Hamas digs some six miles of tunnels every month. Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser, formerly the head of the research division of Israeli military intelligence and later the director general of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, told reporters earlier this year that the tunnels were a sign that Hamas is preparing for another war against Israel. “They definitely invest a lot in making the necessary preparations so that in the next round, when they decide to start it, they will be able to inflict the heaviest damage on Israel, including through those tunnels,” he said.
[Photo: Shin Bet ]