A senior Palestinian Authority source revealed on Sunday that the PA thwarted a suicide bombing attack in Israel planned by ISIS, according to a Ynet report. The attack was supposed to be carried out by Ala Bashir, a 23-year-old teacher from a village near Kalkiya. Instead, she was arrested by the PA two weeks ago and remains in their custody.
Following the suspected terrorist's arrest, an online campaign was initiated for her release since she is female and the PA felt compelled to release a statement about her arrest. The PA said that the attack was planned to destabilize the region.
A senior Palestinian source told Ynet that Bashir joined ISIS after being recruited via the Telegram instant messaging app to carry out a suicide attack. Bashir subsequently communicated with ISIS operatives in Syria and the Gaza Strip. The operatives sent her a training booklet via the Internet with instructions on how to construct a bomb.
According to the source, Bashir, who taught the Quran, has social issues and wanted to end her life via the suicide attack. She was known to have been supportive of Al-Qaeda and the Salafist movement which is active in the Gaza Strip.
The planned attack against Israel is one of several that Palestinian security forces have thwarted in the past year.