JERUSALEM, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Shin Bet security agency said on Tuesday it had foiled a militant cell operating in the occupied West Bank that was directed by handlers in Lebanon.
The group, trained to carry out attacks against Israelis, was tasked with photographing a settlement in the northern West Bank and conducted shooting drills, according to a statement from the Shin Bet.
Five West Bank Palestinians have been indicted. One suspect, detained in October on suspicion of planning an attack, admitted to traveling to Lebanon, where he was recruited to build cells and plan attacks, according to Shin Bet.
After returning via Jordan, the suspect recruited additional members from Anza and Ramallah, and remained in contact with his handlers in Lebanon through social media and online gaming applications, Shin Bet said.
Investigators uncovered a second cell in the northern West Bank, with members recruited by the same Lebanon-based network, which Shin Bet said is led by a figure linked to Hamas and Hezbollah. The agency said it would continue efforts to thwart attacks against Israel and its citizens.
The arrests follow a surge in West Bank violence since the Gaza conflict began in October 2023, marked by increased Israeli military raids and settler attacks.
According to figures from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, approximately 1,020 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 2023, many during Israeli military operations. ■
