Thirteen Hamas terrorists, including a member of the Palestinian Authority’s Legislative Council, were arrested overnight in a joint operation by the IDF and Shin Bet internal security agency.
The operation comes on the heels of the discovery of a regional headquarters of the Hamas terror group in the Ramallah district, north of Jerusalem.
The base is believed to have served as the center of operations for dozens of Hamas terrorists in Samaria, and may be part of a broader effort by Hamas to expand its influence in the Ramallah area. Payments to jailed terrorists and their families, outreach efforts to local Palestinian Authority residents, public demonstrations, and the operation of a Hamas student group were all managed from the headquarters.
During the raid of the facility overnight, IDF soldiers and Shin Bet agents confiscated cash, vehicles, and propaganda material used by Hamas for recruitment purposes.
“The discovery of this [terror] infrastructure reveals Hamas’ continuing strategic intentions to operate and establish bases in the area, as part of an effort to weaken the [Palestinian] Authority; all while attempting to commit serious acts of terror,” a Shin Bet spokesperson said.
“The Shin Bet security agency and the IDF will continue to operate with determination to disrupt these [terror] infrastructures in advance [of possible attacks].”
The Shin Bet Intelligence agency announced on Thursday that it had obtained a treasure trove of information after capturing a Hamas member who snuck into Israel with the intention of killing Israelis in April.
Mahmoud Atauna, 29, of Jabaliya in Gaza, was arrested on April 16 after infiltrating Israel. He was in possession of two knives, and during subsequent questioning, “it emerged that he intended to murder soldiers or civilians that he happened to encounter in Israeli territory,” said the Shin Bet.
The investigation also resulted in much information being gleaned about Hamas’s tunnel activities, the agency added. Atauna was involved in the military wing’s activities, including planting bombs against IDF forces, and mostly, in tunnel activities during recent years.
“Atauna told his interrogators much about the physical features of tunnels in northern Gaza, about techniques used by Hamas in digging them, and the use of private homes and institutions by Hamas, from which it digs the tunnels. He also provided information on the means and materials Hamas uses,” the Shin Bet said.
“During questioning, Atauna pointed to many digging centers, and to tunnel shafts that are supposed to serve the Nuhba (Hamas’s elite unit) operatives for attacks during fighting with Israel,” it stated.
“Atauna said Hamas set up a network of tunnels branching out in Gaza for the passage of fighters and weapons. The tunnel network includes waiting rooms and has showers and dining tables, to improve the living conditions of Hamas fighters,” according to the Shin Bet.
The Izzadin Al-Kassam member provided the names of “many operatives who worked with him in the eastern battalion of Hamas’s northern brigade, and received information on the use of hospitals and civilians for the storage of weapons.” The investigation also revealed that Atauna’s home was a storage center for many weapons, including bombs, assault rifles, and suicide bomb vests, which he was supposed to distribute before a conflict broke out.
“Atauna is one of a series of military Hamas members who are under Shin Bet investigation at this time, and these investigations have revealed a lot of internal information on Hamas’s activities in tunnels,” the Shin Bet said.
Southern District prosecutors have charged the suspect at the Beersheva District Court.
Shin Bet intelligence report on the presence of ISIS in Israel via Israeli Arabs. Photo Credit: Israel’s Channel One TV / YouTube screenshot
The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) has issued a warning that some Israeli Arab students traveling abroad are returning with new knowledge acquired outside the classrooms.
Operatives from the Da’esh (ISIS) terror organization have been recruiting Israeli Arabs while they are attending foreign universities in countries such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
According to a report broadcast Tuesday night on Hebrew-language Channel One TV, Israeli Arabs are using their knowledge of Israeli society to teach ISIS about Israelis. ISIS, meanwhile, is teaching the Israeli Arabs how to use weapons and attack Israel.
The video clip of the report below is in Hebrew but is provided for readers who understand the language due to its importance.
Palestinian Arab youth from Judea and Samaria are also able to make contact with these operatives in universities abroad, which they access easily by simply crossing into Jordan.
Most Israeli Arab youth do not appear as a security threat upon leaving Israel, and are not on the “watch” list.
However, upon graduation from their studies – and their terror training – they are instructed to return to Israel, where they translate their learning into terrorist operations.
The Shin Bet warns, therefore, that in its view, ISIS is already operating in Israel.
But this is not as new as it sounds. There have been in fact a number of reports over the past year attesting to this unpalatable fact.
Several cases of Israeli Arabs disappearing from their homes and suddenly reappearing in Turkey, where they were found to be heading for the border with Syria, towards an ISIS stronghold, were also reported.
Two young Israeli Arabs were caught and convicted of having traveled to Turkey in an attempt to join Da’esh (ISIS) as well. Those two, ages 19 and 21, didn’t make it: they were turned back in time and deported by the Turkish police.
Other reports of Israeli Arabs who had already made it all the way to Da’esh and were in contact with their Israeli Arab friends “back home,” actively recruiting them to join the group, have also been in the news.
In addition, there have been numerous reports of ISIS-linked Salafi Muslim terrorist groups in Gaza, including at least one that continues to fire rockets at Israel from time to time.
ISIS is, indeed, already in Israel and on its borders.
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