Nablus terror ring smashed
The Shin Bet and IDF have arrested in recent weeks four Palestinian minors, aged 15 and 16, who were recruited by the Fatah Tanzim to blow up in Israel, details released for publication on Wednesday afternoon revealed.
Arrests conducted by security forces in the Balata and Askar refugee camps in Nablus thwarted the attacks that had been in advanced planning stages.
One of the minors admitted to being recruited by Muhammad Nakib, 21, who was arrested in January this year for involvement in terrorist activities.
The minor told officials that he expressed intentions to follow in the footsteps of his friend, Omar al-For, who blew up in the Carmel Market in Tel Aviv in November 2004 – an attack that claimed the lives of three Israelis.
Two other minors from the Askar camp said they were recruited in April by Tanzim activists in the Balata camp to blow up at an IDF checkpoint near Nablus. The fourth minor said he had been recruited by operatives in Balata to blow up in Israel.
Four suspected recruiters that belonged to the infrastructure were also arrested. According to officials, they had received instructions and funds from Hizbulalh in Lebanon.
Since violence erupted in October 2000 and until the end of May 2005, 383 Palestinian minors were questioned by the Shin Bet for their role in terrorist activities. Over 200 of them were questioned in the past 18 months.
Security officials noted that 52 threats to launch attacks were registered by the defense establishment on Wednesday. They said the threats stemmed from the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
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