JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s Shin Bet security agency arrested 11 members of a Hamas cell in Hebron that was planning terrorist attacks on Israel.
The arrests, in a joint operation with the Israel Defense Forces, took place last month, the Shin Bet announced Monday in a statement.
Under questioning, the suspects admitted that they had planned attacks in Jerusalem and Hebron, including suicide bombings. One on the Tel Rumeida settlement near Hebron in early December targeted Israeli soldiers.
The suspects turned over explosives and two weapons that they planned to use in the attacks, according to the Shin Bet.
“The cell’s activities show the real threat of Hamas in Hebron, in particular from military operatives who had been detained in the past and who had returned to the cycle of terror,” the Shin Bet said in its statement.
The Shin Bet has requested that the men be held until their trials in military court.
