(Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
Hamas

Shin Bet reveals it arrested a Hamas terror cell which planned to kidnap a soldier and carry out shooting and bombing attacks on soldiers in the Binyamin region.

By United with Israel Staff

The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) has foiled an attempt to kidnap an IDF soldier in the Binyamin Region of Samaria, the agency said Monday.

The Shin Bet’s operation, conducted last month in cooperation with the IDF and Israeli Police, resulted in the arrests of nine Palestinian Arabs. They were arrested on suspicion of being in involved in the creation of a Hamas terror cell in the village of Bidu, northwest of Jerusalem.

The suspects revealed upon interrogation that they had been planning a terror attack in which they would kidnap an IDF soldier.

The terrorists also prepared weapons and explosives, planned escape routes, and carried out information-gathering visits to learn the routines of IDF soldiers stationed in the area. The Hamas terrorists also prepared a place to hide the kidnapped soldier.

The interrogation also revealed that the group was planning to carry out shooting and bombing attacks targeting IDF forces in the Binyamin region. Toward this end, the terrorists learned how to manufacture explosives, and even set up a bomb-making lab inside a residential home.

During the operation, the lab was found and shut down, and weapons, raw materials for the creation of explosives, and plans for the execution of terror attacks were confiscated.