Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Photo: Wikipedia.

JNS.org – Israeli authorities arrested 24 Hamas terrorist operatives in the West Bank on Monday who are suspected of trying to revive the Hamas network in the area with the help of Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip and Qatar.

Among the detainees were several high-ranking Hamas members who have been arrested before, some of them more than once. According to Israel’s Shin Bet security agency, 19 of the suspects are known to have direct links to Hamas or to have publicly voiced support for the organization, and the remaining five suspects are believed to have secret ties to Hamas.

The Shin Bet believes that the heads of the West Bank Hamas network had been working to renew the Hamas presence in Qaliqilya and the surrounding villages and had been preparing to engage in terrorist activity. The squad was reportedly receiving significant funding and direction from Hamas headquarters in Gaza and Qatar. During the arrest raid, more than $8,900 in cash was seized.