The Shin Bet arrested these central figures under the suspicion that they were planning to carry out suicide bombings and other terror attacks in Israel. Photo: Shin Bet.

JNS.org – The Shin Bet security agency has uncovered a large Hamas terror network operating in Abu Dis, just outside Jerusalem, under the direction of the Hamas military wing in the Gaza Strip. The network was planning to carry out multiple bombings and suicide attacks inside Israel.

So far 25 suspected members of the network have been arrested, according to information released for publication on Wednesday. Most of the suspects are students attending the Al-Quds University campus in Abu Dis.

The interrogation has revealed that the network was headed by Ahmed Jamal Moussa Azzam, 24, from the Palestinian town of Yasuf. Azzam was reportedly recruited by Hamas officials in Gaza several months ago and instructed to establish a military infrastructure and launch terrorist attacks on Israeli targets.

Another Hamas cell was discovered in the Bethlehem area, whose members also study at the Abu Dis campus. The members of the cell had been recruited by Azzam as suicide attackers.

This discovery demonstrates once again the involvement of the Hamas military wing in masterminding the mass murders of Israelis in Judea and Samaria and in Israel proper. The latest arrests indicate that the Hamas leadership in Gaza in making exerted efforts to take advantage of the current spate of lone-wolf terrorist attacks across Israel to reintroduce bombings and suicide attacks against Israelis.

The arrests have prevented Hamas from carrying out a series of mass attacks in Judea and Samaria and in Israel that could have cost many lives and exacerbated the delicate security situation.