Hamas Planned To Seize Control of West Bank and Start Intifada, Shin Bet Says
Image by Getty Images
Hamas planned to start a third intifada and seize control of the West Bank from Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority, the Shin Bet security service said.
On Monday, the Shin Bet said it arrested 93 Hamas operatives in the West Bank in May and June who were planning a series of massive attacks on Israeli targets, especially the Temple Mount, in order to start the conflagration.
Indictments are expected to be filed against at least 70 of the suspects.
The leader was Hamas operations officer Salah Al-Aruri, who lives in Turkey, according to the Shin Bet. Aruri was released and deported in 2010 after years in Israeli jails for terror-related charges.
Terror cells were set up in 46 Palestinian West Bank towns and villages — including in and around Jenin, Nablus, eastern Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Hebron — the Shin Bet said.
Many of those recruited for the cells were students studying chemistry and engineering, and academics, according to the investigation.
Funds for the operation were transferred from Turkey and Jordan, the Shin Bet said. Nearly $600,000 was used to purchase weapons and safe houses.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
