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Hamas official warns Israel of attacks on Gaza

Xinhua, February 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

A senior official with the Islamic Hamas movement warned Israel on Monday of launching another strike on Gaza as the Jewish state is about to kick off its parliamentary elections next month.

Salah al-Bardaweel, one of Hamas senior leaders, told reporters in Gaza that "we warn Israel of any crazy action to be carried out on us."

"The Gaza armed resistance is able to defeat any aggression might be waged on the Gaza Strip," said al-Bardaweel.

In July 8, Israel waged a 50-day military air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip. Israel said the aim of the war was to reign on Gaza militants and destroy tunnels went from Gaza into Israel for carrying out attacks in Israel.

The offensive ended after Egypt brokered a cease-fire agreement.

Al-Bardaweel said the cease-fire is not the end of the conflict and won't last if Israel is not committed to it.

HAMAS MEMBERS DETAINED

Also on Monday, the Israeli security agency said it apprehended 11 Hamas operatives in the West Bank city of Hebron in January, who allegedly planned to carry out attacks against Israelis.

The main suspects are 20-year-old Sahaib Mamun Saltan and his cousin, 28-year-old Salam Abbas Saltan, who once served in Israeli prison, according to Israel's Shin Bet Security Agency. Both are from Hebron.

The agency said the two had confessed to plotting attacks near Hebron at the end of 2014, planning to detonate an explosive device against Israeli soldiers, but the plan was aborted due to technical difficulties.

The suspects, along with their collaborators, allegedly gathered intelligence in order to plan attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

"The cell's activities show the real threat of Hamas in Hebron, in particular from military operatives who had been detained in the past and who returned to the cycle of terror," the Shin Bet said in a statement.

Military prosecutors would be given the files of the suspects and legal proceedings will take place in the upcoming days, the Shin Bet added.

Israeli security forces conducted a major operation against Hamas operatives in the Hebron area in the West Bank in June last year, after three Israeli teens were kidnapped and killed by Palestinian militants in the West Bank.

Thousands of Israeli security troops were deployed during the operation which was dubbed "Brother's Keeper," while hundreds of Palestinians were arrested and several Hamas institutions in the West Bank shut down. Endit