The terrorists who dug their own graves

Israelis may have sighed in relief on Thursday at news of a thwarted Hamas plot to kidnap and kill Israelis – with a grave already prepared — and a thwarted knifing attack by three Palestinians. But in Friday’s Hebrew papers, the news only appears to deepen the anxiety of what is yet to come, as the latest round of violence enters its fourth month.

“The six members of the cell that was revealed yesterday will not carry out the kidnapping they had planned, and will not negotiate over the body they had planned to hide in a cave or a field near Hebron – but the warning signs in the aftermath of their arrests ought to raise concerns about the attacks that may yet emerge from Judea and Samaria under Hamas’s guidance,” writes Yossi Yehoshua of Yedioth Ahronoth. Hamas is rearing its head in the West Bank, he warns.

“The grave was already prepared,” reads Yedioth’s headline on its news story about the foiled plot, which pointed to the similarities to the June 2014 kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers.

“The kidnapping and murder of the three teenagers Naftali Fraenkel, Gil-ad Shaar and Eyal Yifrach in June 2014 shocked the country and was one of the leading factors in the regional escalation and Operation Protective Edge,” the paper says. “Now, the gag order has been lifted on a joint operation between the Shin Bet, police and IDF a month ago, that uncovered a terror cell and thwarted an identical kidnapping whose ramifications would likely have been far worse.”

In Israel Hayom, the spotlight is on Thursday’s foiled triple stabbing in the West Bank, under the headline: “Heroism at the Gush Etzion Junction.”

The paper also offers more chilling details about the kidnapping plot.

“From the investigation, it emerged that in the past few months, the cell members inspected caves… They tried to dig, but encountered rocky terrain, and agreed they would try to find a burial spot where it was easier to dig. Several weeks later, they examined the possibility of burying the abductee in a cave near the home of one of their grandfathers. They later discovered a two-meter deep pit which was found to be suitable for burying a body, since the opening could be covered up with rocks.”

The paper also worryingly features photos from a Hamas rally in East Jerusalem, where shouts of “slaughter the Jews” were heard.

“In the photos, the many protesters are seen with their faces covered, armed… and even shooting in the air – and all in the heart of Jerusalem,” Israel Hayom writes of the rally in the Shuafat refugee camp.

The pictures “were reminiscent of rallies in the heart of Palestinian Authority-controlled territories, only this time it was Israeli protesters, whose cars have yellow license plates.”

At the same time, the paper also features a report from the Shin Bet national security agency which said that December saw a decrease in the violence – 246 attacks, compared to 326 in November.

Meanwhile the Haaretz daily leads with a report on Egypt’s concerns as Israel cozies up to Turkey, amid strained ties between Ankara and Cairo.

“Senior officials in Jerusalem told Haaretz that Egypt expressed its reservations regarding granting Turkey a role in the Gaza Strip, and asked whether Israel had committed to any easing of restrictions in the closure imposed on Gaza.”

The Foreign Ministry confirms the report, with the spokesman saying: “In the framework of our dialogue with Egypt there is also some talk about Turkey. Egypt wished to know where things stand.”

In its editorial, the left-wing daily lambasts opposition leader Isaac Herzog for failing to be, well, oppositional.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s inflammatory speech against Israel’s Arab population last Saturday night [‘a state within a state’] provided a golden opportunity for opposition leader MK Isaac Herzog,” it writes. But, it laments, Herzog merely offered a “pale condemnation.”

“The left can only return to power with the support of Arab voters and their representatives. However, Herzog’s attempts to outdo the right wing in appearing to be patriotic, Zionist and attuned to the country’s security needs, leaves the field open for Netanyahu.”

It adds: “While continuing with his incitement, the prime minister passed a cabinet resolution aimed at partially correcting the budgetary discrimination against Arab citizens. When the time for taking stock comes, Likud will take credit for bringing about a change in priorities and the Zionist Union will come across as the party of discrimination.”