Israel arrests members of "terror cell" operated by Lebanon's Hezbollah in West Bank
Xinhua, January 20, 2016 Adjust font size:
Israeli forces on Wednesday arrested five members of a West Bank "terror cell" that operated under the guidance of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement.
A statement by the Shin Bet security service said that the leader of the cell, Mahmoud Zaghloul from Tulkarm city in the northern West Bank, was recruited online by Jawad Nasrallah, the son of Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
Five members of the group were charged Wednesday in an Israeli military court in the West Bank. According to the indictments, they were allegedly plotting to carry out a shooting attack against Israeli soldiers in the West Bank, the Shin Bet said.
"The cell received instructions and guidance regarding executing terror attacks using explosives, training suicide bombers, gathering information on security forces and purchasing weapons, from Hezbollah," a military spokesperson said in a separate notice.
The Shin Bet said that over the past years, Hezbollah's 133 Unit has been attempting to establish terror infrastructure in the West Bank by recruiting Palestinians.
The last major confrontation between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah took place in 2006.
The arrests came amidst a four-month-long surge of violence in the West Bank and Israel, which so far claimed the lives of at least 160 Palestinians and 25 Israelis. Endit