Hebron (TPS) – The Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) revealed on Sunday, January 10, that a Hamas terror cell was uncovered in November 2015 and that its members were arrested and indicted. The members had planned to shoot at passing Israeli cars on Route 35 in southern Judea, near Hebron.

The leader and organizer of the terror cell was 38-year-old Imad Muhammad Ali Kawasmeh from Hebron. He is the brother of Hussam Kawasmeh, who directed the June 2014 attack in which three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and murdered in Gush Etzion. Following the kidnapping, Operation Protective Edge in Gaza eventually took place to stop the incessant rocket fire on Israel.

A security official told Tazpit Press Service (TPS) that the Kawasmeh tribe is known to Israeli security forces, and that members of the Hebron-based tribe have carried out and directed multiple terror attacks against Israelis.

The other members of the terror cell, all residents of Hebron are Hamas activists, Amer Muhammad Awiwi, 29, Hussam Fahri Hashlamoun, 24, and Louis Faisal Hashlamoun, 32. The latter had previously served in Israeli prison for taking part in Hamas terrorist activities.

The investigation and interrogations revealed that Kawasmeh and Louis Hashlamoun drove multiple times along route 35 to determine the optimal location for the attack. They purchased weapons with which to carry out the attack, which included an M-16 rifle and a handgun that were found during the investigation.

Kawasmeh also recruited logistic collaborators who were supposed to locate a stolen vehicle for use during the attack. They were also planned to aid the cell members after perpetrating the attack, when they would be searched for by Israeli security forces.

Indictments were recently filed against the terror cell members at the military court in Judea, charging them of conspiring to intentionally cause the death of innocent civilians and of membership of a terror cell belonging to the Hamas organization.

“The apprehension of the terror cell, which had been almost ready to carry out the terror attack, reveals again the incessant attempts by Hamas activists in Hebron to carry out deadly attacks,” read a statement by the Shin Bet.