On Monday, the Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, announced that it had successfully thwarted a Palestinian terrorist plot targeting areas within Green Line Israel. The plot, which involved a suicide bombing and a separate bomb attack, was directed by handlers from the Gaza Strip and carried out by operatives from Judea and Samaria.

According to the Shin Bet, the plot was disrupted through a joint investigation with the Israel Defense Forces on December 14th. The Popular Resistance Committees and Shuhada Al-Aqsa, both designated terrorist organizations based in the Gaza Strip, were identified as the perpetrators behind the plot. A working bomb, hidden inside a fire extinguisher, was seized by authorities.

As a result of the investigation, four suspected terrorist operatives from Judea and Samaria have been arrested. The Israeli security operation focused on known terrorist operatives in the Gaza Strip, led by Ahmad Fathi Hajaj, an explosives expert residing in Jabalia, northern Gaza.

The Shin Bet stated that the successful disruption of the plot is part of an ongoing campaign to foil terrorism in Israel, involving a range of techniques and tools deployed by the Shin Bet, the Israel Defense Forces, and the Israel Police. Prime Minister Yair Lapid commented on the operation, stating that the security forces had arrested terrorists in Judea and Samaria who were planning to carry out a large-scale bomb attack in Israel, aided by terrorist organizations from the Gaza Strip. He emphasized that the ongoing fight against terrorism and terrorist cells remains a daily priority for all sectors of Israeli security.