Hamas terrorists on the march in Gaza. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

Hamas is going to great lengths, including training in Malaysia, to recruit potential terrorists and execute terror attacks against Israelis, a report reveals.

Hamas has been recruiting and training Palestinian students in Malaysia to become terrorists upon their return to their homes in Judea and Samaria, Haaretz reported Tuesday.

Citing a Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency) report, Haaretz said Hamas is training Palestinians from Judea and Samaria, studying in Malaysia, to carry out terror attacks under the auspices of Hamas’ armed wing.

The report is based on a Shin Bet account of Hamas activity in Malaysia, which was part of a recent indictment against a Hebron resident who was arrested in February upon his return home from the southeast Asian, predominantly Muslim country. In the indictment filed to an IDF Military Court in March, Waseem Qawasmeh, 24, was charged with belonging to and transferring funds for a banned terror organization.

Qawasmeh said he swore allegiance to the terror organization while studying at the Islamic University in Kuala Lumpur, where he was recruited by a top Hamas activist in the university’s student association.

According to the report, the recruits were expected to return home to act as undercover operatives and messengers for already-established Hamas networks in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.

Hamas dismissed the report. “The Shin Bet’s accusations… are baseless; they are mere lies,” Hamas said in a statement. Hamas said the security agency’s claims were intended to ratchet up pressure on Palestinian students abroad.

“The Israeli accusations are aimed at preventing West Bank students from traveling abroad to pursue their studies and providing a justification for their arrest upon their return,” the terror group said.

Not the First Such Report

A similar report about Hamas activities in Malaysia surfaced after Operation Protective Edge, during which IDF forces captured several hundred terrorists. One of them, under interrogation, revealed that Hamas terrorists were receiving advanced para-gliding training in Malaysia so that they could infiltrate Israel by air in order to kidnap and murder Israelis. The terrorist who confessed said he belonged to a 10-man team.

A Shin Bet spokesman said at the time that the details of their investigation demonstrate the extent of the efforts and resources that Hamas invests in bolstering its military capabilities. “Hamas goes to incredible lengths to carry out attacks against Israel,” he declared.

By: Max Gelber, United with Israel