A joint investigation by the Shin Bet intelligence agency and the Israel Police has exposed Hamas activity in Jerusalem funded by senior members of the terrorist organization residing in Turkey.
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Four suspects have been indicted on suspicion of funding and membership in a terrorist organization.
According to the indictment, during his visits to Turkey over the years, the head of Hamas in Jerusalem Khaled Sabah met with senior Hamas operatives at the terror group's headquarters in the country. Among those senior Hamas officials was Zacharia Najib, who was convicted for his involvement in the 1994 kidnapping of the late Nachshon Wachsman. Three other Hamas operatives were convicted in the kidnapping and murder of police officer Nissim Toledano.
Sabah was joined by his wife and sons Munib and Musa'ab on some of these flights abroad to foster the appearance of a family trip. On his most recent Turkey trip, taken last month, senior Hamas officials promoted Sabah, putting him in charge of Jerusalem to promote the terrorist organization's activity in the city, including clashes with security forces, enlisting new operatives for the organization, raising funds, and other activities. Within the new role, Sabah was asked to establish and operate a military and organizational framework in Jerusalem and make plans for the holy month of Ramadan in particular.
In early February, three members of an east Jerusalem family were arrested on suspicion of terror-related crimes upon landing in Israel. Those suspects, Sabah, Munib, and Musa'ab, from the neighborhood of Sur Baher, were taken for interrogation, during which it arose that they had worked with the Lajnat Zakat Al Quds organization, which has offices on the Temple Mount and serves as a platform for the transfer of funds including to support families of terrorists under the cover of its purported work with orphans.
As part of the investigation, another 43-year-old suspect from the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina was arrested. Thanks to a joint effort with the tax authority, documents, 500,000 shekels in cash, cars, and properties were seized and bank accounts were frozen in the arrest.
The investigation further found that some of the suspects had trained with weapons overseas.
In a statement, the Israel Police said, "Senior Hamas officials outside of Israel are working constantly to enlist operatives in Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem to promote terrorist activities. The Israel Police and security forces will continue to act in coordination with additional figures to thwart recruitment efforts and the bolstering of Hamas inside Jerusalem through the identification and handling of all figures that have expressed a willingness to assist these efforts – in order to improve security for residents of the state and prevent harm to its citizens."
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