by Israel Hayom Staff
Gag order lifted, revealing recent arrest of Hamas cell behind the bombing of the No. 12 bus in Jerusalem in April • Cell comprises Hamas operatives from Bethlehem area • Cell planned a number of additional attacks, including car bombings, shootings.
An Egged bus on fire in
Jerusalem after a bomb was detonated on board in April
|
Photo credit: Noam Revkin-Fenton  |
A gag order was lifted Sunday, revealing that a
Hamas cell behind an April bus bombing in Jerusalem had planned a
number of terrorist attacks targeting Israelis.
In a joint effort by the Shin Bet security
agency, the IDF and the Israel Police, the members of the cell -- all
Hamas operatives living in the West Bank city of Bethlehem and its
surroundings -- were apprehended in recent weeks,
On April 18, an explosive device went off
aboard the No. 12 bus in the Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem, wounding
19 people. The bomber, identified as Abed al-Hamid Abu Srour from Beit
Jala, was severely wounded in the blast and later died of his injuries.
The investigation that followed the attack
revealed that members of the cell suspected of assembling the bomb had
planned to carry out additional attacks, including car bombings and
shootings, and that two of them had been involved in a previous shooting
attack in 2015. No one was hurt in the 2015 attack.
Mahmed Sami Abed al-Hamid al-Aza, 28, one of
the suspects, has been jailed in Israel in the past for involvement in
plotting Hamas terrorist attacks. His interrogation revealed that he
started manufacturing explosives after watching instructional videos
online.
The suspect said that his friends helped him
obtain the necessary materials and when the device was ready, they
recruited the suicide bomber and prepared him for the attack, planning
how to get him into Jerusalem and carrying out the necessary tasks. All
the while, the cell was working on preparing additional attacks and
obtaining more explosives and weapons.
He revealed further during questioning that in
October, 2015, he and another suspect, Mahmed Issa Mahmoud Al-Barbari,
had driven by the Jewish settlement of Tekoa and carried out an
impromptu shooting attack at an Israeli vehicle traveling toward Tekoa.
The driver was not hurt.
A third suspect, Mahmed Majdi Mustafa al-Aza,
had operated under the direction of Mahmed Sami. He helped make the
explosive devices and recruit additional members to the cell, including
the bomber Abu Srour. Mahmed Majdi also offered to carry out a suicide
attack in the future and the two had planned to start working on the
attack after the Jerusalem bus bombing.
According to investigators, Ahmed Mahmed Mahmoud Mashaih, 19, masterminded the Jerusalem bombing.
Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=33989
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