Report: Israeli military arrest more than 100 Hamas operatives in Hebron

The Israeli army operating in Hebron arrested more than 100 Hamas members planning to carry out terrorist attacks in Israel, Israeli media reported Monday night.

The Israeli military has not made any official comment on the matter thus far.

The army conducted several operations in the West Bank over the past two weeks, Channel 13 reported. These operations were in response to a failed terrorist attack in early December that involved a 16-year-old Hamas militant. He reportedly attempted to carry out a shooting at the entrance to the Efrat settlement with an M-16 rifle. His gun jammed, and he was unable to carry out the attack.

Israeli forces and the Shin Bet then realized that Hamas cells were operating from Hebron, had military grade weapons and were planning attacks. 

“We are operating on a very wide-ranging and aggressive scale in order to prevent the next attack,” an officer told Channel 13.

The aborted attack was carried out from Turkey by Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy head of the political bureau of the militant organization, according to the Shin Bet. Zacharia Najib, released from prison in 2011 as part of the Gilad Shalit exchange agreement, also contributed to the attack.

In 2011, Israel released more than 1,000 incarcerated Palestinian terrorists in exchange for the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was kidnapped by Hamas on the Gaza Strip border in 2006.