הסגרת אמצעי לחימה לידי השב"כתקשורת שב"כ

Israeli security forces operating in Samaria have uncovered a massive terrorist cell responsible for a string of terror attacks in the area, the Shin Bet internal security agency revealed Wednesday morning.

Some 50 terrorists linked to a cell operated by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) have been arrested in the Ramallah area of Samaria, the Shin Bet said.

The PFLP terror cell was discovered during operations carried out by the Shin Bet, IDF, and Israel Police.

The terror cell’s members include the three terrorists responsible for the August bombing attack near Dolev, in western Samaria, which killed 17-year-old Rina Shnerb and injured her father and brother.

Investigators also found that the terror cell was involved in the two shooting attacks near Beit El, north of Jerusalem, a year and a half ago.

Security officials say the terror cell was planning major attacks, set to be carried out in the near future.

The three terrorists from the cell who carried out the August 2019 bombing attack that killed Rina Shnerb include:

  • Forty-four-year-old Samer Arbid of Ramallah, who was arrested in September for the attack and has been arrested four times in the past for his terrorist activities. Arbid organized the terror cell and was responsible both for constructing and detonating the bomb which killed Shnerb.

  • Yazan Hussein Hassani Magmas, 24, a resident of Bir Zeit near Ramallah, who was involved in not only the August 2019 bombing attack but also a number of other terror attacks.

  • Twenty-four-year-old Kassam Al Karim Ragah Shabli of Kobar, near Ramallah. Likue Magmas, he was involved in other terror attacks prior to the August bombing.

During the Shin Bet internal security agency’s interrogation of the three terrorists involved in the bombing attack, information was obtained leading to the discovery of various hidden weapons linked to the PFLP cell, including an M-16 assault rifle, an AK-47 assault rifle, a Galil assault rifle, a carbine rifle, a mini-uzi-style submachine gun, a number of pistols, a silencer, material used for the assembly of bombs, remote detonators, telescopic rifle sights, and large quantities of ammunition.

Many of the weapons were found during a joint IDF, Israel Police raid of the home of one of Arbid’s relatives.