Last month, two Bedouin men from southern Israel were arrested on suspicion of being linked to the terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Shin Bet security services said on Sunday.
According to Shinbet, Saad Abu Laqaik, 20, from Terusheva city, and Sameh Al-Nabali, 21, from the Negev village near Fra, had direct contact with members of the terrorist group.
The pair were accused of helping raise money in Gaza for Hamas.
Shinbet said al-Nabali was also instructed to carry out “additional security tasks” for Hamas, including an attempt to transfer weapons to another operative.
An indictment was filed Sunday accusing the pair of “serious security breaches,” according to the agency.
The service warned that Gaza-based terrorist groups are increasingly seeking to carry out attacks not only in the West Bank, but also in Israel.
Palestinian members of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza City, September 21, 2022. (Attia Muhammed/Flash90)
Shinbet said the recent arrests have taught the agency much about Hamas’ attempts to “recruit Israeli citizens for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activities.”
Shin Bet and the Israeli police said they “take very seriously any involvement or involvement of Israeli citizens in terrorist activities, including contact with operatives of terrorist organizations, including those in the Gaza Strip.”
In July, a Bedouin man was arrested after being recruited by a small Gaza-based terrorist group to join the Israeli army and forward information.
The September arrests came at a time of increasing violence in the West Bank.
The Israeli military has ramped up arrest raids and other counter-terrorism efforts in the West Bank after a series of terrorist attacks against Israelis in the spring killed 19 people.
In recent months, Palestinian shooters have repeatedly targeted military posts, troops operating along the West Bank security barrier, Israeli settlements, and civilians on the road, including some linked to Hamas. attacked.
Last month, security forces seized the cells of four Palestinians accused of planning shootings in the West Bank on Hamas’ orders, and another Hamas group of seven members accused of planning both the shootings and bombings. Arrested solitary confinement.
