Israel’s Shin Bet said Thursday it had arrested more than 30 Hamas militants in the West Bank who were planning to carry out terrorist attacks in Jerusalem.
The militants had obtained weapons and explosives that it planned to use to target a football stadium in Jerusalem and the city’s light-rail system, The BBC reported Thursday.
The Shin Bet security agency said the arrested men were trained and recruited in Jordan and Turkey, The Associated Press reported.
The security agency claimed that the group was responsible for two bomb blasts in the northern West Bank on Aug. 31, with one bomb rigged to explode shortly after the other to target emergency services personnel sent to the scene, the BBC reported.
The arrests come amid growing Israeli-Palestinian tensions following a slew of attacks over the past month resulting in the deaths of 11 Israelis.
Last week, five people — including three American rabbis — were killed with guns and meat cleavers in a gruesome massacre in a Jerusalem synagogue.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commended the Shin Bet for foiling the latest terrorist plot.
“This is one operation that has been published, but there are many more that remain secret,” Mr. Netanyahu said, the AP reported. “These foiling activities are against terrorists and against Hamas, which challenges the existence of a Jewish nation-state and the existence of Jews in general.”
More than 2,000 people were killed in a 50-day conflict led by Hamas this summer between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza.
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
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