The Shin Bet security service announced on Wednesday that over the past two months it broke up two terrorist cells in the West Bank that had conducted shooting attacks and planted explosive charges against Israel Defense Forces patrols. The cells did not belong to terrorist organizations and were locally organized. One cell was made up of residents of Shura, east of Bethlehem. Among other acts, the cell shot at a military police jeep near the security barrier north of Beit Sahour in August and was involved in other shooting and Molotov cocktail incidents. A Shin Bet investigation found that the cell members were between the ages of 18 and 22 and wanted to harm security forces personnel. Also, cell members planned to kill settlers travelling in the area of their village. Among other weaponry, a Carl Gustav rifle was found in the home of one of the cell's collaborators. Another cell was made up of residents of Zuata, near Nablus. This cell is suspected of planting an explosive charge against an IDF patrol near the village in September. Two cell members, both 21, were once active in Hamas. The Shin Bet said, however, that both cells were locally organized and were part of what the defense establishment calls "popular terrorism'. The cells were not tied to the infrastructure of Hamas or any other terrorist group.
