Israel’s Shin Bet security agency announced on Monday that over 50 Hamas operatives suspected of planning terror attacks were arrested in the West Bank and Yerushalayim, i24 News reports.
The effort to uncover the cell was ongoing for several months, with the first round of initial arrest raids in September, according to Times of Israel.
“You thwarted a large infrastructure, some of which you know was ready to go with explosive belts or more, also grenades and other explosives,” IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi told the military commanders whose units took part in the raids, Times of Israel reported.
According to Shin Bet, the cell was led by Saleh al-Arouri, a senior leader in the terror group in the West Bank who lives in Turkey. He worked abroad with additional Hamas members. Al-Arouri invested hundreds of thousands of shekels into the cell’s activities and offered a prize of $1 million if the cell carried out a kidnapping successfully. Read more at i24 News.
{Matzav.com}
