JERUSALEM (JTA) — Forty members of a Hamas terror cell said to be planning an attack in the West Bank were arrested.
The arrests took place over the past several months, Israel’s Shin Bet security service said Wednesday in a statement. The Israel Defense Forces issued a similar statement.
Indictments will be submitted to a military court in the next few days, according to the IDF.
Among the operatives arrested were Hamas officials who have been jailed in the past for their involvement in terror activities, according to the Shin Bet.
Cell leaders established a headquarters in Nablus and made “intensive efforts” to reestablish Hamas terror activities in the West Bank, the Shin Bet said. The cell was directed from Qatar, and orders were sent to Hamas operatives via email.
The IDF and Shin Bet investigation revealed detailed information regarding another Hamas terror cell planning a terror attack that was thwarted during the course of the operation.
The announcement of the arrests comes after several days of terror attacks on Israeli targets and calls by the Israeli public to crack down on Palestinian terror groups.
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