In the framework of a joint operation by the Shin Bet and IDF in May this year, four cell members of the Hamas military wing in Nablus, suspected of plotting to launch attacks in Israel were arrested. Details released by the Shin Bet on Tuesday revealed that the cell infrastructure was responsible for making the bomb belt found by security forces in Tel Aviv last September that was to have been used in a suicide bomb attack.
The members were identified as Osama Halwaeh,21 a student at the city's A-Najah University. Tarek Abdullag Taher, 25, a resident of Nablus, Majdi Tsabih Abu Yassin, 26, a resident of Nablus and Iman Awad, 30, a resident of Nablus who in the past was incarcerated in Israel for his involvement in plotting a suicide attack in Israel.
The cell members admitted during questioning to building a bomb laboratory to manufacture explosives in an apartment building in Nablus. Undergoing weapons training and learning about explosives and chemicals, using videotapes distributed by Hamas which showed footage of a former senior Hamas member Mohand Hafez who was killed by security forces in 2002, explaining the process step by step.
Cell members also admitted to possessing weapons including an M16 and a Kalashnikov rifle.
The Shin Bet described the cell as an extremely dangerous one who for some time had worked to improve its capabilites in the West Bank and plotted to launch attacks.
In the ongoing crackdown on Hamas organizations in the West Bank, security forces on Tueday shut down a shopping mall in Nablus. On Monday security forces shut down a school and other charity organizations linked to Hamas which they suspect were a backdrop for terror funding. Defense Minister Ehud Barka signed an order earlier this week demanding the closure of 36 Hamas affiliated organizations in the West Bank.07/08/08
Margot Dudkevitch
Infolive.tv
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