Israeli security officials thwarted an Arab terrorist plan to stage a shooting attack in Jerusalem, the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) announced on Tuesday morning.
According to the Shin Bet, terror operatives in the Gaza Strip were working to recruit and train young Arabs in Judea and Samaria to carry out terror attacks, including a shooting attack in Jerusalem.
The handlers of the emerging terror network were operatives associated with Gaza’s Popular Resistance Committees and with financing coming from Hamas, the Shin Bet said.
The cell’s Gaza-based handlers were identified as Iman Yosef Khalil Zakat and Mohammad Zabri Aram, both residents of Rafah.
Recently, two Arabs from Judea and Samaria were arrested and are suspected of activities on behalf of the terror cell. During the Shin Bet’s investigation, it emerged that the two received instructions from this terror “infrastructure” and intended to carry out a “significant” shooting attack in Jerusalem in the coming days.
Last month, two Arab brothers from Judea and Samaria were arrested on suspicion of having been recruited to carry out a bomb attack in Israel.
Israeli-Arab tensions remain high as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan approaches. Ramadan begins on Wednesday evening. Last year, a surge of Arab terror attacks began in the spring around Ramadan, killing 19 people. Israel responded by launching an ongoing sweep against terror in Judea and Samaria, which has thwarted 500 terror attacks and arrested more than 2,500 suspects.
