JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The Shin Bet announced Tuesday that in a joint operation with the IDF conducted over the past several months, it had identified and disrupted a terrorist cell in Samaria planning to execute attacks in Israel. The cell was directed by a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in Lebanon.
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The cell, including several Samaria-based Palestinians, was directed by Aalam Qaabi, a Popular Front activist from Shechem. Qaabi had enlisted would-be terrorists, some from his own family, to carry out attacks on Israelis. He had been deported to Gaza in 2011, in a prisoner swap that was struck to secure the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit after five years in Hamas captivity in Gaza.
Several of the Palestinian suspects were charged with intent to carry out terrorist attacks, and others were arrested on suspicion of promoting terrorist activities.
In his interrogation, one of the suspects, Mared Qaabi, a relative of Aalam, said that he was instructed by Qaabi to carry out a shooting attack using an M16 assault rifle he had in his possession. Another suspect, Khaled Abu Alhija, said he was tasked with carrying out attacks and leading a terror squad that would operate in the area of Jenin. Both men were indicted in military court.
“The Shin Bet along with the IDF and the Israel Police will continue to foil terrorism, including when it is carried out by Palestinian residents under the guidance of terror actors outside Israel’s borders, such as Aalam Qaabi,” the security service said in a statement.