Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Lieberman. Photo: Israeli government.

JNS.org – Israeli security forces revealed Thursday that they prevented a Hamas assassination attempt against Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

According to a joint statement by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the Shin Bet security agency, and the Israeli police, a three-member Hamas terror cell had purchased an RPG rocket launcher that they intended to use to fire at the foreign minister’s car.

The leader of the terrorist plot was 37-year-old Ibrahim Salim Muhammad al-Zir, a resident of the Harmela village near Bethlehem. Al-Zir has already been incarcerated in Israel for offenses related to involvement with Hamas.

The Judea Military Court indicted the members of the Hamas cell, which also included 35-year-old Ziad Salim Mahmoud al-Zir and 31-year-old Adnan Amin Mahmoud al-Zir, for conspiring to premeditated manslaughter and conspiring to trade in arms.