The Shin Bet security agency announced on Monday that it recently foiled plans by a West Bank terror cell from the Aqabat Jaber camp to carry out a kidnapping attack against Israelis.
The previous day, the agency revealed that it had foiled a plot by Paleostinian university students to carry out a shooting attack on Israelis in the West Bank.
The agency said Monday that troops recently arrested Muhammad Tarik, 19, and Amin Qatash, 20, residents of Aqabat Jaber, near Jericho, over their involvement in the kidnapping plot. A third member of the cell was detained by the Paleostinian Authority security forces, according to the Shin Bet.
The members of the West Bank terror cell had dug a hole in the ground where they intended to hold Israeli hostages, the Shin Bet said.
Tarik and Qatash established the cell, purchased firearms and other weapons, and recruited others to carry out a kidnapping alongside shooting and explosive attacks against IDF troops and civilians in the West Bank, according to the agency.
"It emerged that the cell dug a hole in which they planned to hide the hostages. The hole’s opening was camouflaged and located near the house of one of the cell members," the Shin Bet statement read.
The Shin Bet said that it had seized a makeshift submachine gun, an bomb and other military equipment connected to the suspected terror cell.
Following their arrests, the suspects were charged last week with a series of serious security offenses, including charges related to their alleged kidnapping plans.
On Sunday, the Shin Bet revealed that it had foiled a similar but unrelated terror plot by a cell made up of Hamas
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...representatives on the student council at Birzeit University in the West Bank. The Shin Bet said the cell was given instructions and funding by Hamas’s branch in
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
, and was plotting to carry out a shooting attack in the West Bank.
Since October 7, troops have arrested some 4,400 wanted Paleostinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,850 affiliated with Hamas.
According to the Paleostinian Authority health ministry, more than 560 West Bank Paleostinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were button men killed during raids or bully boyz carrying out attacks.
During the same period, 22 Israelis, including security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another five members of the security forces were killed in festivities with terror operatives in the West Bank.
Related:
Aqabat Jaber: 2024-06-03 2 Palestinian teens shot dead by troops; IDF says they were throwing firebombs
Aqabat Jaber: 2023-04-25 Palestinian man shot dead by Israeli troops during raid near Jericho
Aqabat Jaber: 2022-04-28 Paleo news agency: Israeli forces kill Palestinian in West Bank; Israel Times: IDF arrests 17 jihadis in WB, raids home of Tel Aviv killer
Aqabat Jaber: 2024-06-03 2 Palestinian teens shot dead by troops; IDF says they were throwing firebombs
Aqabat Jaber: 2023-04-25 Palestinian man shot dead by Israeli troops during raid near Jericho
Aqabat Jaber: 2022-04-28 Paleo news agency: Israeli forces kill Palestinian in West Bank; Israel Times: IDF arrests 17 jihadis in WB, raids home of Tel Aviv killer