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Israel arrests four Palestinians suspected of planning attacks on Israelis in West Bank

Xinhua, August 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Israeli security services said on Tuesday they arrested four Palestinian militants who allegedly planned to attack Israelis in the West Bank, according to statements by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet Security Agency.

According to the authorities, the four Palestinians intended to strike Israeli civilians at the biblical Jewish site, which is believed to be the resting place of the biblical patriarch Joseph, located in the outskirts of Nablus in the West Bank.

Since the site is located under the Palestinian Authority's jurisdiction, Jewish groups are allowed to visit the area once a month in coordinated visits along with military escort.

"The cell planned to plant IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and fire towards the worshipers at Joseph's Tomb," a statement by the IDF's Spokesperson Unit read, adding that the four received directions from Rafat Mohammed Darwish, an Islamic Jihad operative from the Gaza Strip.

"During the investigation it was revealed that each member of the cell held a specific position. The residents of Nablus and Qabitiyia were in charge of acquiring the weapons, training and logistics, while the residents of Tulkarem were responsible for executing the attack," the IDF said in the statement.

The Shin Bet said in a separate statement that Nassim Damiri, one of the detainees, confessed during his interrogation that he planned to carry out a terror attack at Joseph's Tomb under the orders of Darwish from Gaza along with his cousin Muhamad Damiri.

An indictment will be filed against the four suspects in the near future in the West Bank's military court.

Tensions have increased between Palestinians and Israelis in the past year in the West Bank and surrounding Jerusalem, with militant attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians in the area on one hand, and price tag acts by Israeli extremist settlers against Palestinians, on the other, becoming routine incidents along with sporadic clashes between Palestinian and Israeli security services. Endit