Israeli intel: Hamas used disposable cell phones to order missile-production
Special to WorldTribune.com
JERUSALEM - Israel has determined that the Hamas regime was establishing an infrastructure for missile and rocket production in the West Bank.
The Israel Security Agency determined that Hamas ordered cells in the West Bank to manufacture missiles and rockets. ISA said Hamas operatives were led by a Palestinian attorney and based in the Ramallah area.
Palestinian militants from the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad organization display rockets at an undisclosed location in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
/Kutup Dalgakiran/AFP/Getty Images
Palestinian militants display rockets at an undisclosed location in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. /Kutup Dalgakiran/AFP/Getty Images
"Communication between Hamas operatives in Gaza and the members of the terror network was carried out via e-mail and the use of disposable cell phones," ISA said.
In a statement on May 8, the agency said the missile production cell was directed by Hamas officers in the Gaza Strip. ISA identified the cell leader as Ahmed Abu Fahida, an attorney and liaison with the Gaza Strip.
"The network's handlers in Gaza provided Abu Fahida with instructions on how to manufacture explosives and identify potential kidnapping victims," the agency said.
Israel has long been tracking Hamas efforts to build missile and rockets in the West Bank.
Officials said such a capability would enable Hamas and its allies to target the Tel Aviv area as well as Ben-Gurion International Airport.
ISA said the cell, discovered in January and February 2013, was also working on other operations, including planting bombs and abducting Israel soldiers. The agency said Abu Fahida told his Gaza handlers of an imminent attack.
"Investigations revealed that just days before the arrests, Abu Fahida had sent word to Gaza that the members of the terror network were on the verge of being ready to carry out their attacks," ISA said.
Officials said Abu Fahida, 26, was recruited to Hamas' military wing, Ezzedin Kassam Brigades, by Ahmed Ouda, identified as an officer in the Gaza Strip. They said Abu Fahida, told Israeli interrogators that his first assignment was to abduct an Israeli soldier, remove his identity card and cell phone and then kill him. The body of the Israeli was to have been buried in a secret location.
In January, Abu Fahida recruited Ahmed Yassin Shabrawi, a Hamas operative released by Israel. ISA said the two men drafted the abduction plans in January 2012.
"They made preparations to procure weapons and the necessary materials to manufacture rockets and also marked potential recruits for their terror squad," ISA said.
In March 2013, the alleged Hamas operatives were tried in the Israeli military court in the West Bank. The military said the trial has not been completed.
This marked the second Hamas cell captured by Israel that sought to build missiles and rockets in the West Bank. Officials said the first cell, captured in March 2012, was sponsored by Hamas Interior Minister Fathi Hamad.
"This latest exposure of yet another terror network proves, once again, the high motivation of terror organizations, led by Hamas, to promote and carry out attacks on Israeli soil," a military statement said.
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