Joint Security Operation Foils Hamas Terror Cell Plotting Major Attack in Israel

In a joint operation by the Shin Bet, the IDF, and the Gideonim unit of the police, a terror cell composed of students affiliated with the Hamas cell at Birzeit University was thwarted. In the operation, members of the cell who planned to carry out a significant attack were arrested by Gideonim unit 33 fighters.

There was suspicion against these operatives that they were acting on behalf of the Hamas headquarters in Turkey, aiming to provide infrastructure for Hamas military activity against Israelis.

The investigation of the suspects by the Shin Bet revealed that the cell members were engaged in practical preparations for a significant attack as well as a series of actions to transfer Hamas funds to operatives in the field, all under the direction of senior officials from the Hamas headquarters in Turkey.

The Shin Bet investigation revealed that Mahmoud Anjat, a resident of Khirbet Bani Harith in the Binyamin region, who is suspected of being the head of the cell, recruited a military cell from Birzeit University in Ramallah and utilized the connections of Bara Romana, a Kutla operative at Al-Quds University, a resident of Al-Bireh in Ramallah, to the headquarters in Turkey for obtaining funding to purchase weapons and carry out the attack.

During the investigation, all members of the cell who were intended to carry out the attack were arrested by Unit 33 Gideonim fighters. Additionally, an M16 rifle was surrendered and tens of thousands of dollars received from the Hamas headquarters in Turkey were confiscated.

The investigation materials were transferred to the military prosecution to file indictments.

In recent weeks, many arrests of Hamas cell operatives in higher education institutions in the West Bank have been carried out, aiming to continue thwarting Hamas infrastructure activities in the Judea and Samaria regions, which are directed by Hamas headquarters officials in Turkey.