It was released for publication on Monday morning that the Shin Bet thwarted an advanced attempt by Hamas terrorists to kidnap an IDF soldier and carry out deadly terror attacks against IDF forces in Binyamin.

Over the past month, the Shin Bet, in cooperation with the IDF and Israel Police, arrested nine Palestinian Authority terrorists for allegedly establishing a Hamas terror infrastructure in the village of Biddu in Binyamin.

During the suspects’ interrogations, the Shin Bet discovered that the terrorists were planning to carry out a “soldier kidnapping terror attack.”

The terrorists obtained weapons, prepared explosives, mapped out escape routes, and conducted reconnaissance tours in order to familiarize themselves with the soldiers’ activities in the Binyamin area. They even prepared a hiding place for the kidnapped soldier.

The terrorists were also planning to carry out shooting and bombing attacks against IDF forces in Binyamin, teaching themselves to produce explosives and even setting up an improvised laboratory to manufacture explosives inside a residential home. In the course of the investigation, the Shin Bet raided the laboratory and seized raw materials for the production of explosives, pipe for pipe bombs, and explosive devices. They also seized Carlo-type guns and maps with outlines of the planned attacks and escape routes.

The Shin Bet said that the terrorists operated in isolation, maintaining utmost secrecy about their plans, in order to avoid detection.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)