WATCH: Shin Bet and Jerusalem police thwart terrorist plot coordinated with Hamas in Gaza

The Shin Bet and the Central Unit of the Jerusalem District Police revealed a thwarted terrorist plot on Thursday, planned by two terrorists who coordinated with a Hamas terrorist in Gaza.

An investigation into the two was opened by the two agencies in early February after suspicion was raised of the two individuals who contacted a foreign agent and conspiracy to commit terrorism. 

The Shin Bet, along with the Jerusalem District Police, uncovered the plot using undercover agents. On February 6, 2024, detectives from the Jerusalem District Police Department and an undercover unit of the Jerusalem Police arrested the two suspects.

Suspects from Nablus arrested 

One terrorist is a 17-year-old resident of Israel living in Shuafat, in East Jerusalem, who worked alongside his cousin, the second terrorist, who is a 29-year-old Palestinian resident of Nablus. With the assistance of the IDF, the older terrorist was arrested and taken into custody. Both suspects were interrogated, and extending their detention.

The police investigation revealed that the terrorists contacted, on their own initiative, a Hamas operative in the Gaza Strip prior to the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

The minor sought to carry out a terrorist attack, contacting Hamas operatives with the goal of learning how to produce explosive materials. He also searched the Internet for instructions to make bombs and used Telegram to converse with the Hamas operative.

Negotiating with a Hamas terrorist 

The younger terrorist contacted his cousin, sharing his plan, and asked him to negotiate with the Hamas terrorist, identifying himself as part of a terrorist cell that sought to carry out attacks against Israelis. The older terrorist agreed to assist the minor terrorist and took on the responsibility of continued contact and negotiations with the Hamas terrorist in Gaza.

Along with the instructions for building explosives, the terrorists attempted to obtain weapons and financing in order to carry out a shooting and a bomb attack against Israelis. Following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, the contact between the two terrorists and the Hamas operative in Gaza was severed. 

With the conclusion of the investigation, evidentiary foundations were formed against the two terrorists, and the prosecutor's statement was submitted against them at the beginning of the week. Their detention was extended, and early on Thursday, the State Prosecutor's Office announced that an indictment would be filed against the two terrorists.