Israeli authorities earlier this year thwarted a large-scale suicide bombing attack directed by Hamas’s terrorist headquarters in Turkey, the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) revealed on Monday.
The security agency said it forces captured Anas Shurman—a Palestinian originally from Tulkarem who lives in Jordan—during a March 15 raid in the central Samaria terrorist stronghold of Nablus (Shechem).
Interrogations revealed that three months earlier, Shurman had been recruited to carry out a suicide bombing by Hamas terrorist Imad Abid, an operative living in Turkey who was also born in Judea and Samaria.
As part of his preparations for the attack, Shurman allegedly videotaped a will, took motorcycle lessons and received funds and instructions to carry out the bombing, including where to collect the explosive device from a hidden location in Samaria.
The bomb, weighing some 26 pounds, was seized by Shin Bet agents near a spring in Samaria, the agency said. Next to the explosive, they allegedly found written instructions on how to carry out the bombing.
The Shin Bet thwarted a suicide bombing planned by Hamas in the center of the country back in March. The attack was directed by Hamas in Turkey. pic.twitter.com/pTzQzotqcX
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) June 3, 2024
Following an investigation, several Nablus residents were apprehended on suspicion of being part of the terrorist cell; the Shin Bet said the cell was given directions by Hamas terrorist Hudhayfa Salameh in Turkey.
Members of the cell were charged with serious security offenses under military law, including “attempting to intentionally cause death,” contact with the enemy and membership in a terrorist group.
“The investigation reveals the entrenchment of the Hamas headquarters in Turkey and its involvement in directing terror attacks in Israeli territory,” the Shin Bet charged in the statement.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has long harbored members of Hamas. In 2022, the terrorist organization marked the 10th anniversary of the official establishment of its offices in Istanbul.
The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, in a 2021 report, said that Hamas’s headquarters in Istanbul has directed hundreds of terrorist attacks against Israelis and laundered millions of dollars.
“Turkey collaborates with terror organizations on both the ideological and operational levels. Terrorists working on Turkish soil establish infrastructures and plan terror attacks against Israel,” the report noted.
In April, Ankara invited Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s “political” bureau, to stay in the country, praising him as a “leader of the Palestinian struggle.”
Last week, Erdoğan called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “vampire who feeds on blood” and urged Muslims worldwide to act against the “threat” posed by Israel.
“The world is watching the barbarity of … a psychopath, a vampire who feeds on blood called Netanyahu, and they are watching it on live broadcast,” Erdoğan said in a speech to members of his AK Party.
Erdoğan urged Muslims and “young people” around the world to help eradicate Zionism, which he denounced as “lawless perversion,” and stop Netanyahu’s “murder network” from “spiraling out of control.”