Border Police forces in Judea and Samaria on Sunday night thwarted a terror attack that was about to be carried out in the Binyamin area.
During a proactive operational activity near the village of al-Mughayyir, troops set up a checkpoint to inspect suspects, where they identified a vehicle that raised suspicion.
An initial examination of the vehicle revealed that the vehicle had been stolen from within Israel. The forces detained the driver, a 21-year-old resident of the Palestinian Authority-controlled Jericho, and conducted a thorough search of the vehicle and his mobile phone, uncovering highly concerning findings indicating concrete intent to carry out a terror attack.
During the search of the stolen vehicle, fighters located a booklet written in Arabic. Examination of its contents indicated it was a “martyrdom will," characteristic of terrorists prior to carrying out suicide or deadly attacks, including the suspect’s name along with farewell messages and religious-nationalist motives.
A search of the suspect’s phone revealed further evidence of radicalization and intelligence preparation. Numerous items expressing strong identification with the Hamas terror organization were found, including praise for the October 7 massacre.
More seriously, it was discovered that the suspect was a member of WhatsApp groups of Israeli residents and soldiers, as well as additional security-related groups, apparently in order to gather intelligence on troop movements and civilian locations ahead of the planned attack.
In light of the clear evidence indicating preparations for an attack, the suspect was arrested and transferred for urgent interrogation by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).
On Monday morning, sources close to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir told Arutz Sheva - Israel National News that “the Attorney General and the Supreme Court have joined together against police activity and the incitement monitoring unit that operated on social media to track exactly these kinds of cases. We see the importance of monitoring social media to reach potential terrorists like this one, who was caught by chance."
A senior police official added: “The incitement unit is one of the most important tools the Israel Police needs. It is unfortunate that there are efforts to act against it."