Major terror attack on Israeli town in Samaria thwarted

Lebanese-run terror cell photographed Israeli town in Samaria, carried out firearms training, and sought to purchase weapons for planned attack.

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli security forces recently thwarted a major terrorist attack on a Jewish town in Samaria, breaking up a terror cell being directed from Lebanon.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Shin Bet security agency announced that five Palestinian Arabs were arrested in the past few months, foiling their planned attack on an Israeli community in northern Samaria.

According to the Shin Bet, the terror network had been tasked with gathering intelligence on Israeli communities, conducting firearms training, and preparing attacks against Israeli towns.

Israel’s security establishment first uncovered the terror plot in October, when Shin Bet investigators arrested Mohammad Tzedaka, a resident of the village of Anza in Samaria, on suspicion of planning an attack.

During his interrogation, Tzedaka admitted that he had traveled to Lebanon, where he was recruited by a terrorist operative identified as Moussa Abu Seif, also known as “Jibril.”

Investigators said the recruitment was aimed at promoting terrorist activity in Judea and Samaria and at establishing local operational cells.

After returning to Samaria via Jordan, Tzedaka recruited additional terrorists, including Mohammad Khalil from Ramallah and Mohammad Barahmeh, also from Anza. Both were subsequently arrested by the Shin Bet.

Investigators found that Tzedaka maintained ongoing contact with his Lebanese handlers through social media platforms and online gaming applications, a method increasingly used by terror groups to evade detection.

In parallel, Shin Bet agents exposed a second cell linked to the same Lebanon-based network. Two residents of the village of Tell in Samaria, Diaa al-Din Hamad and Nasser Osaida, both in their 20s, were detained for questioning.

Their interrogations revealed that they had been recruited by a Lebanese operative named Mujahid, who coordinated the activity with additional handlers using the aliases “Abu Ahmad” and “Abu Wahid.”

According to the Shin Bet, members of the cell carried out firearms training in preparation for an attack, were instructed to photograph an Israeli community in Samaria, and were promised funding to purchase weapons.

Intelligence gathered during the investigation indicated that the overall network was headed by Mujahid Dahsha, a Lebanese resident with ties to operatives from Hamas and Hezbollah.

Indictments have been filed against all five suspects.