Hamas plot to attack Israel, PA in West Bank foiled by mass arrests

Hamas reportedly planned to carry out a series of terrorist attacks against Israel and Palestinian Authority in the near future, but the plot was scuppered because of the arrest of over 250 Hamas members by PA security in the West Bank, a Palestinian official told The Times of Israel. The Hamas cells planned to kidnap Israelis, fire at vehicles on main arteries in the West Bank, launch attacks on IDF checkpoints and assassinate senior PA security officials.

Behind the plot was a cadre of veteran Hamas fighters known as the “West Bank office,” comprising former convicted terrorists from the West Bank who were released from Israeli prisons to the Gaza Strip in the 2011 Gilad Shalit deal. The cells were managed by senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri. The aim, the PA official said, was to deteriorate ties between Israel and the PA, and to cause Israel to make a drastic move which would inflame the West Bank.


http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-plot-to-attack-israel-pa-in-west-bank-foiled-by-mass-arrests/