Arrest in J'lem's Zahal Square leads to discovery of Nablus-based terrorists.
By YAAKOV KATZplastic bomb belt 298(photo credit: IDF)
The IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) revealed Thursday morning that they had cracked a West Bank-based terror cell which was manufacturing suicide belts made with liquid explosives that could not be detected by metal detectors.
The cell was activated by the Popular Resistance Committees in Gaza, which the IDF said had ordered the Beit Furik-based terrorists who lived near Ramallah to manufacture the belts and perpetrate suicide attacks in Israel.
One such belt was worn by cell member Ashraf Hanani, who was arrested in Zahal Square in Jerusalem after he was stopped for a routine ID check in July. During his interrogation, Hanani exposed four other members of the cell - group leader Muhammad Hanani, Nima Hanani, Nimad Muhammed and Ibrahim Al-Hinbi - who worked for the Palestinian Authority Preventive Security Force.
A second belt, which was hidden by Al-Hinbi in PA Police headquarters in Ramallah, was discovered by the security force and handed over to the IDF in September. The IDF reported that both belts contained unusually large amounts of liquid explosives, and had they been detonated, would have had a disastrous consequences.
Meanwhile Thursday, IDF troops operating in a refugee camp near Nablus shot and killed a 25-year-old Palestinian. Relatives said Mohammed Ahmedan, 25, was standing on the porch of his home in the al-Ein refugee camp near Nablus, watching the IDF operation, when he was shot twice and killed. They said Ahmedan was unarmed.
The IDF said an initial inquiry into the incident found that soldiers had identified and shot an armed Islamic Jihad operative. In addition, IDF soldiers found an explosive device nearby which they destroyed in a controlled explosion.
AP contributed to this report.
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