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Security forces thwart Hamas terror plot directed from Turkey

The Shin Bet’s investigation revealed that the cell members were actively preparing to execute a significant attack.

By Lilach Shoval, JNS

Security forces have foiled a significant terrorist plot orchestrated by Hamas operatives in Turkey and involving students from Birzeit University in Samaria.

The operation, a collaborative effort of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), IDF and a specialized police unit, led to the arrest of several suspects and the seizure of weapons and funds earmarked for the attack.

The cell, operating under the banner of “Kutla Islamiya,” was in the advanced stages of planning a major attack when it was uncovered.

Intelligence gathered by the Shin Bet indicates that the suspects were acting on directives from Hamas leadership in Turkey, with the ultimate goal of establishing a foothold for Hamas operations against Israeli targets.

The Shin Bet’s investigation revealed that the cell members were actively preparing to execute a significant attack and were involved in a complex network of Hamas fund transfers to operatives in the field.

These activities were reportedly coordinated by high-ranking Hamas officials based in Turkey.

A resident of a village in the Binyamin region of Samaria is suspected of leading the cell. He allegedly recruited a “military” unit of activists from Birzeit University in Ramallah.

According to the investigation, the suspected leader used connections with another activist, a student from Ramallah studying at Al-Quds University, to establish communication channels with the Hamas command in Turkey.

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These connections were reportedly used to secure funding for weapons acquisition and to facilitate the planned attack.

As the investigation unfolded, all cell members involved in the attack planning were swiftly arrested by Israeli police.

The security operation also led to the surrender of an M16 rifle and the confiscation of tens of thousands of dollars, which had been funneled from the Hamas command in Turkey to finance the plot.

The evidence collected during the investigation has been handed over to the military prosecution for review and possible indictment.

Earlier this year, Israeli authorities thwarted a large-scale suicide bombing attack planned by Hamas’s terrorist headquarters in Turkey, the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) revealed in June.

The agency said its forces captured Anas Shurman—a Palestinian originally from Tulkarem who lives in Jordan—during a March 15 raid in the central Samaria terrorist stronghold of Nablus (Shechem).

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Interrogations revealed that three months earlier, Shurman was recruited to carry out a suicide bombing by Hamas terrorist Imad Abid, an operative living in Turkey who was born in Judea and Samaria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has long harbored members of Hamas. In 2022, the terrorist organization marked the 10th anniversary of the official establishment of its offices in Istanbul.

The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, in a 2021 report, said that Hamas’s headquarters in Istanbul has directed hundreds of terrorist attacks against Israelis and laundered millions of dollars.

In April, Ankara invited Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s “political” bureau, to stay in the country, praising him as a “leader of the Palestinian struggle.”