The Shin Bet security agency has stopped an attempt by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad to establish a terror network in Judea and Samaria that was designed to carry out terrorist attacks against Israeli targets, the Shin Bet announced Monday afternoon after a gag order on the case was lifted.
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All members of the cell have been indicted for major security offenses.
A joint operation by the Shin Bet and the IDF resulted in the arrest of a number of Palestinians from Jenin and the surrounding villages. The suspects were recruited by officials from the PIJ in the Gaza Strip to take part in terrorist activity.
When Shin Bet personnel questioned the suspects, they learned that the cell members had been recruited on social media networks by one Ahmad Nabil Ahmad Judeh, a resident of Rafah in Gaza, a PIJ member who actively recruits young people.
However, not all the suspects were callow youngsters. One woman, Yasmeen Shaaban from the village Jalama, is 40 and a mother of four. Shaaban is a known member of the PIJ who has served prison time for involvement in planning a suicide bombing with guidance from handlers in Gaza.
Shaaban is suspected of having helped put Judeh in touch with the cell members from Judea and Samaria and helping them transfer money, weapons, and ammunition. Shaaban's arrest and interrogation proved to be key in helping the Shin Bet uncover the plot.
Information gleaned from Shaaban helped security officials identify a network in the Gaza Strip and a framework for the similar network Juda was trying to establish. Judeh is believed to have been acting on behalf of senior PIJ official Jihad Shaker Diab Ganam, a resident of Rafah.
The investigation led Shin Bet personnel to about seven suspects in Judea and Samaria, including Muhammad Yassin from the village Deir Abu Daif near Jenin. Yassin in turn recruited a number of other people from his village, all of whom were arrested. Yassin and his recruits received briefing material from Gaza, and constructed a rocket-shaped bomb they intended to use against local farmers.
Two of the suspects were indicted in the IDF Military Court in Samaria on major security counts. Four other suspects were also indicted.
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