10 January 2016•Update: 10 January 2016
RAMALLAH, Palestine
The Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, claimed Sunday that it had arrested members of a Hamas-linked armed group in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
"In a joint operation carried out with Shin Bet, the Israeli army arrested [members of] an armed group belonging to Hamas that had planned to carry out shooting attacks last November in the Hebron area of the southern West Bank," read a statement issued by the Shin Bet.
"The group was headed by Mohamed Qawasmi and included as members Louay Hashlamon, Amer al-Awawi and Fakhri Hashlamon," the agency asserted.
According to the Shin Bet, members of the group had an M-16 rifle and a handgun in their possession.
Hamas, for its part, has yet to comment on the agency’s assertions.
In a related development last Thursday, the Israeli army said it had arrested members of a Hamas cell, which, it claimed, had planned to kidnap Israeli settlers in order to swap them for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
