Shin Bet says it foiled Hamas suicide bombing plot directed from Turkey

Israel says it foiled a recent attempt by Hamas to carry out a suicide bombing attack in Israel, directed by members of the terror group in Turkey.

According to the Shin Bet security agency, on March 15, Anas Shurman, a Palestinian man originally from the West Bank city of Tulkarem but who resides in Jordan, was detained in Nablus over his suspected involvement in the bombing plot.

The agency says his interrogation revealed that in December 2023, he was recruited by Imad Abid, a Hamas operative living in Turkey, though also originally from the West Bank.

Shurman agreed to carry out a suicide bombing on behalf of Hamas, with the target set to be in Israel proper, the Shin Bet says.

The Shin Bet says that as part of the plans ahead of the attack, the would-be suicide bomber filmed a last will, took motorcycle lessons that he would have used in the attack, and received funds and instructions to carry out the bombing, including where to collect the explosive device from a hidden location in the West Bank.

The large fragmentation bomb, weighing some 12 kilograms, was seized by the Shin Bet from a spring in the West Bank, the agency says. Next to the bomb, the Shin Bet says, it found written instructions on how to carry out the attack.

Additional Hamas members involved in the plot were also detained, with the Shin Bet saying they were part of a terror network in Nablus.

The agency says those Hamas members were involved in manufacturing the bomb and hiding it for Shurman.

Shurman was charged with several severe security offenses, including “attempting to intentionally cause death” — the equivalent of attempted murder under military law — as well as membership in a terror group.

Five more Nablus residents were hit with similar charges, the Shin Bet says.

The agency says its investigation “reveals the entrenchment of Hamas… in Turkey and its involvement in directing terror attacks in Israel.”