Israel prevents massive Islamic Jihad naval attack and kidnapping

Security services reveal that 10 Islamic Jihad terrorists were arrested for an planning attack on an Israeli ship last month.

By: World Israel News Staff

The Israeli Shin Bet security services announced Wednesday that 10 Islamic Jihad terrorists from Gaza were arrested last month as they were preparing an attack on a naval ship.

Once of the suspects, identified as 24-year-old fisherman Amin Jamaa, from Rafah, was indicted Wednesday on suspicion that he was gathering intelligence for the planned strike on a navy vessel.

The intricate plot would have involved several boats, with one vessel distracting the navy patrol. Another boat would then fire a Kornet missile at the navy ship and a third boat would move in to abduct soldiers. The captured Israelis would then be used as bargaining chips in a future prisoner exchange deal.

Under questioning, Jamaa reportedly confessed to having gathered information on naval ships, including intelligence about their locations, numbers of sailors on board and the weapons they have on the vessels.

The Shin Bet statement said, “This is another link in a chain of terror attacks planned and initiated by Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip in recent months, including a cross-border attack tunnel that was neutralized on October 30, 2017, the firing of mortar shells at Israel on November 30, 2017 and December 28, 2017, and more.”

A break in the case came on March 12, when an Israeli naval vessel on a routine patrol stopped a Palestinian fishing boat outside the permitted fishing zone and arrested those on board.