Israel says Hamas terror cell foiled

The Israel Security Agency has said it has uncovered a large-scale Hamas ring in the West Bank which planned to carry out a series of attacks. Targets included Jerusalem’s Teddy football stadium and the city’s light railway.

More than 30 members of the cell were arrested in September, although Israel only yesterday released details of the sweep for publication.

The ring was overseen by the Hamas headquarters in Turkey, the agency said, and its members included militants trained abroad and inserted into the area to carry out attacks.

Weapons found

During the course of the investigation, Israeli authorities recovered two M-16 assault rifles, ammunition and bomb-making materials, although it is unclear how close cell members were to carrying out a major attack.

The arrests come at a time of rising Israeli-Palestinian tension.

Eleven Israelis have been killed by Palestinian assailants over the past month, mostly in Jerusalem, including four rabbis and a policeman who were killed at a synagogue last week. Twelve Palestinians have also been killed, including several who carried out attacks.

The arrested Hamas militants included two Jordanians and a Kuwaiti national. Most of the cell members were Palestinian students studying in Jordan, who were approached after expressing support for religious ideology, Israel said.

A Hamas spokesman in Gaza said the organisation had no information about the Israeli claims.

“It is clear Israel wanted to create a new story to divert the world’s attention away from the escalation in Jerusalem.”