Israeli West Bank raid takes out Hamas network, killers of three teens

Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — Israel has struck the Hamas network in the West Bank.

The Israel Army has captured or killed about a dozen senior Hamas operatives in the southern West Bank. The casualties included the killers of three Israeli teenagers in Hebron in June 2014.

IDF soldiers in the West Bank.
IDF soldiers in the West Bank.

“The operations foiled a major Hamas terrorist attack,” an official said.

The army worked with the Israel Security Agency on Sept. 23 in a raid of Sair, north of Hebron. Officials said seven senior Hamas operatives, believed to have planned a major strike, were captured.

“They were planning to conduct a suicide bombing during the Jewish new year,” the official said.

Officials said Hamas’ network in Hebron has become one of the most active in the West Bank. They said the network was believed to have been funded independently from other regions in the West Bank.

The Hamas network was also said to have maintained weapons caches around the Hebron area. Officials said Hamas sought to escalate attacks during the Jewish holiday period in September and October 2014.

The military also reported the killing of two senior Hamas operatives in Hebron. The operatives, Amar Abu Eisha and Marwan Qawasmeh, were identified as the killers of three Jewish teenagers in a botched abduction attempt south of Bethlehem. Two other alleged members of the cell were arrested.

“We opened fire, they returned fire and they were killed in the exchange,” Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said. “We have visual confirmation for one. The second one, we have no visual confirmation, but the assumption is he was killed.”

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