Shin Bet says it thwarted terror bombing in Jerusalem planned by Hamas

The Shin Bet security service says it thwarted plans by Hamas members from Hebron to conduct a bombing attack in Jerusalem earlier this summer, retrieving the three-kilogram explosive device they intended to use.

The Shin Bet says the cell, along with others arrested by Israeli forces in recent months, had been directed to carry out attacks against Israeli and Palestinian Authority targets by Hamas’s military wing in the Gaza Strip.

“The operatives in the West Bank were instructed to form cells in order to carry out kidnappings, shootings, stabbings, purchase weaponry and to find and induct additional operatives for terrorist activities,” the Shin Bet says in a statement.

A member of the cell planning the Jerusalem bombing, university student Tamer Rajah Rajbi, was arrested in June, leading to additional arrests of other Hamas operatives, including other students, the security service says.

“During his arrest, Tamer handed over an explosive device that weighs three kilograms (6.6 pounds), which had dozens of pieces of metal attached to it to maximize fragmentation and injury in the explosion. The device was meant to be used to carry out a bombing attack,” the Shin Bet says.

According to the security service, Tamer had been recruited by Hamas to act as a bomb-maker for the organization and had trained to create explosive devices.

— Judah Ari Gross