In the past few weeks, it was revealed that Hamas had planned a series of attacks against Israelis after Israeli forces arrested more than 50 members of a Hamas terror cell.
The arrests took place in the West Bank, where Israel's Shin Bet international security agency, the IDF and Israel Police seized money, munitions, weapons and enough materials to create three to four suicide bomb belts.
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian, the breaking news editor for the Times of Israel, tweeted footage of the terror cell's explosives being detonated in a controlled setting by the Israeli military after they were confiscated.
According to a statement by an unnamed senior Shin Bet official, the arrests were essential in preventing what could have been a future attack on Israelis.
"This is an extensive and significant pre-emptive thwarting of a dangerous terrorist infrastructure, which had planned a series of attacks." the senior official said, according to CBN News.
The security agency noted that Hamas Deputy Chairman Saleh Arouri and Zacharia Najib, a Hamas operative, were leading and financing the terror cell.
"Hamas operatives from abroad and Gaza continue their incessant efforts to recruit residents from Judea and Samaria for terrorist activities," a Shin Bet press release said. "These efforts include an ongoing flow of funding for diversified terrorist operations."
According to CBN News, Najib was previously released from Israeli prison because of the 2011 "Shalit deal," when more than 1,000 Palestinian terrorists were released from custody in exchange for Gilad Shalit, an IDF soldier abducted by Hamas terrorists near the Gaza border in 2006.
On Sunday, a Hamas gunman opened fire in Jerusalem's Old City, killing one and injuring four others before being fatally shot by Israeli police himself. As Christian Headlines previously reported, Hamas confirmed that the attacker was one of their own and praised the assault as a “heroic operation.”
In May of this year, Israeli and Hamas came to a ceasefire agreement after 11 days of conflict along the Gaza strip.
Related:
Hamas Terrorist Opens Fire Near Entrance of Temple Mount Killing 1, Injuring 4 Others
Photo courtesy: Pixabay
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
