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Israel says Hezbollah cells busted in West Bank

Xinhua, August 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

Israeli security forces said on Tuesday that they have busted several "terror cells" that Lebanon's Hezbollah militant organization established in the West Bank.

A military spokesperson said in a statement sent to Xinhua that several Palestinian suspects were arrested for their alleged involvement in these cells.

"The operatives, who were recruited through social media networks by the Hezbollah terror organization, intended to take part in the execution of variety of attacks," the spokesperson said.

According to the military, the operatives were instructed to carry out suicide bombings and shooting attacks against Israelis in the West Bank.

A separate statement by Israel's Shin Bet security service said that the suspects were recruited by Hezbollah operatives from Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

In Qalqilya, a city in the northern West Bank, Mustafa Kamal Hindi, 18, allegedly established a group with other young Palestinians from the area, with the aim of perpetrating attacks against Israeli soldiers. The Shin Bet said Hindi was in touch with a Hezbollah operative, who sent him instructions through Facebook and emails.

Other suspects allegedly established cells in northern West Bank city of Jenin, and Tammun, a town northeast of Nablus.

None of the planned attacks were carried out, the Shin Bet said.

The suspects were charged in Israeli military courts in the West Bank over the past weeks.

The arrests came amidst a yearlong Palestinian uprising, including shooting, stabbing, and car-ramming attacks.

The violence claimed the lives of at least 220 Palestinians and 34 Israelis. According to Israel, most of the Palestinians were killed amidst attacks or alleged attempted attacks.

Israeli leaders accuse the Palestinian National Authority of "inciting" the unrest, while the Palestinians say it is the result of 49 years of Israeli occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, the home to more than five million Palestinians, where they wish to establish their state. Endit