Shin Bet says man caught in Negev after crossing via Sinai planned to set up West Bank terror cell.
By YAAKOV LAPPINIDF arrests terror suspects 248.88(photo credit: AP)
Abd al-Rahman Talalka, sent to Israel to establish a terrorist infrastructure, was indicted on terrorism charges at Beersheba Magistrate's Court on Sunday.
On the morning of June 1, an urgent message was transmitted to the Israel Police's southern district.
Sent by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), the message contained a warning about a senior terrorist from Gaza who had just entered Israeli territory.
The warning concerned 25-year-old Talalka, who left Gaza some time ago, had infiltrated the Sinai Peninsula, and made his way into southern Israel.
Talalka underwent extensive military training at a camp in southern Gaza run by the Popular Resistance Committee, and his mission was to set up an entire terrorist infrastructure that would target army bases, police, and civilians in Israel and the West Bank, security sources say.
In Gaza, Talalka underwent weapons and bomb-making training courses, learned how to prepare car bombs, bomb belts for suicide bombers, and how to detonate explosives. He also received training on how to operate GPS-enabled devices, map reading, and intelligence gathering.
"After receiving the alert, we set up checkpoints across the South," Negev Police Spokesman Tamir Abatbi told The Jerusalem Post. "Every vehicle was stopped and its occupants checked. One roadblock in Yeroham [in the Negev] stopped a bus, which contained Talalka," he said.
"Talalka was unarmed, and did not resist arrest. He confessed to his mission and to his training in Shin Bet interrogation sessions," Tamir said.
Talalka's indictment sheet also contains the charge of "plotting to kidnap or murder a soldier and use him as a bargaining chip in negotiations," and "planning to purchase chemicals to produce bombs."
