By Aryeh Savir/TPS • 3 July, 2019
The Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency) has recently exposed and thwarted a Hamas attempt to establish a bomb-making network in Judea and Samaria while utilizing Israel’s humanitarian medical permits for this purpose, the security agency revealed Wednesday.
Fadi al-Sabah, a Hamas-trained bomb expert from the Gaza Strip, infiltrated Israel by taking advantage of a permit to receive medical treatment in the country. He was tasked with establishing a bomb lab that would supply suicide bombers with explosives.
The plans were exposed after a series of arrests among terrorists in Gaza.
Al Sabah, 35, was arrested by Israeli forces in Teibe in May. He was recruited by Hamas operative Ashraf Sabah in July 2018 and underwent training in bomb building for several months. He was also trained on how to bypass Israeli security vetting and background checks.
His operator, Ashraf Sabah, was imprisoned for 12 years in Israel for his involvement in executing attacks against Israeli forces on the Gaza border.
Fadi was recruited by Hamas after they learned that he was in the process of receiving a permit to enter Israel for medical treatment. Hamas decided to use him for terrorism purposes.
Some of Fadi’s trainers were released in the Shalit deal, the Shin Bet noted.
Before leaving for treatment in Israel, Ashraf sewed notes with code words into Fadi’s jacket. The codes would have been used for communication between the various terror cells.
To obtain the proper medical record that would get him an entry permit, Fadi asked a Gazan doctor to provide him with a note that stated that he could not be treated in the Strip. After receiving the permits, he underwent training by Hamas.
In May 2019, Fadi entered Israel through the Erez Crossing with the doctored jacket placed in his luggage. He was to be treated in a Hebron hospital
but never arrived there and instead met up with terror elements.
He was arrested a few days later in Teibe in northern Israel and was recently indicted in a military court.
A senior Shin Bet official stated that “again we are witness to Hamas’ exploitation of humanitarian permits provided by the State of Israel and its utilization of this medium to promote the organization’s hostile activities in Israel.”
Israel has previously exposed several cases in which Hamas has utilized Israel’s humanitarian medical permits for promoting terrorism.
