SHIN BET THWARTS TERROR ATTACK GUIDED BY OPERATIVE IN SYRIA

ANNA AHRONHEIM

A general view picture shows the Israeli barrier running along the East Jerusalem refugee camp of Shuafat. (photo credit: REUTERS)

Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency thwarted a terror cell directed by an operative in Syria who planned to harm senior Israeli figures and international delegations, it was announced on Tuesday.

According to the Shin Bet, 30-year-old Muhammad Jamal Rashdah, from the Shuafat refugee camp in east Jerusalem, planned to carry out significant terrorist attacks against a variety of targets, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat.

Rashdah, who has an Israeli ID card and is a former security prisoner, also planned terror attacks against a delegation of Canadian representatives residing in Jerusalem who train Palestinian Authority forces in the West Bank as well as against buildings belonging to the American consulate.

The Shin Bet investigation also revealed that, at the instruction of the terror operative in Syria, Rashdah carried out preliminary steps to collect intelligence about the targets against which he planned to carry out attacks. In order to promote some of the attacks, the cell intended to bring in a terrorist operative from Jordan, the Shin Bet statement added.

In response to the Shin Bet announcement, Jerusalem Mayor Barkat said that “our Shin Bet is one of the finest organizations in the world. I was briefed on the threat the entire time. When the Shin Bet is involved and the police are on the ground, I can trust them and sleep quietly and safely.”

Additional suspects were later arrested, allowing for the suspicions to be verified and further intelligence was gained regarding the cell’s activity.

“The arrest of the suspects thwarted significant terrorist activity that the infrastructure sought to advance,” the Shin Bet said.

While the indictment against Rashdah remains under gag order, according to information cleared for publication, Rashdah and two other members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine were arrested in the affair and were indicted on Sunday, May 27th.