From the Liveblog of
Thursday, May 2, 2024
Shin Bet captures Islamic Jihad cell planning bombing attacks in West Bank
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
A Palestinian Islamic Jihad cell planning bombing attacks in the West Bank on behalf of the terror group’s Lebanon branch was recently captured, the Shin Bet security agency announces.
According to the Shin Bet, IDF troops nabbed three Islamic Jihad operatives in the West Bank town of Yabed in January. They are named by the agency as Ahmed Abu Bakr, 29, Ibrahim Abu Bakr, 29, and Ibadah Abu Bakr, 18.
The trio “acted under the directives of the PIJ headquarters in Lebanon, in order to carry out significant attacks, using remote-detonated explosives against IDF troops in the area,” the agency says.
During their arrest, the Shin Bet says, troops seized several primed explosive devices.
Ahmed and Ibrahim, who the Shin Bet says are senior PIJ operatives, were in contact with the terror group’s headquarters in Lebanon, during which they received funding, largely cryptocurrency, for their attacks, according to the agency.
The Shin Bet says the pair also carried out tests with remote-detonated bombs. Ibadah had been recruited by Ibrahim to build the explosive devices, according to the agency.
The trio have been charged with a series of security offenses, leading the Shin Bet to release details about the case.
The Times of Israel Community.