The ISA (Israel Security Agency – Shin Bet) on Monday 22 Menachem Av announced a widespread operation that involved the arrest 93 Hamas terrorists, all of whom were involved in a planned coup in Yehuda and Shomron. According to the information released to the media, Hamas was planning a major operation to take over control of all PA (Palestinian Authority) autonomous areas and to oust PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) from those areas as Hamas succeeded in doing in Gaza.

Hamas planned a number of major terrorist attacks against Israeli targets which would have led to instability throughout Yehuda and Shomron, setting the stage for the takeover. ISA agents were working for months to halt the coup operation and following the arrests, 46 of the 93 suspects arrested were taken for interrogation.

Authorities report that over 600,000 NIS and almost 70 weapons including rocket launchers were seized in the operation. It is reported that over 2 million shekels were spent on funding the coup operation.

Heading the operation was Riad Natzr, 38, a resident of Dir el-Qadis in the Binyamin Regional Council area of Shomron. Natzr is a leading Hamas official in the Ramallah area. Natzr told interrogators that Hamas leaders in Turkey are behind the plot, intending to topple the PA government in Ramallah.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)