Members of the Hamas cell, whose plot to kidnap and kill Israelis was foiled by security services. Photo: Shin Bet.

JNS.org – The Shin Bet, Israel Defense Forces, and Israel Police jointly revealed Thursday that six members of the Hamas terrorist group had allegedly planned to kidnap and kill an Israeli man in similar fashion to the murders of three Israeli teenagers—Gilad Schaar, Eyal Yifrach, and Naftali Frenkel—in June 2014. The men intended to use the kidnapped man to negotiate an exchange of Palestinian prisoners for his body.

Israeli authorities arrested the Hamas members in December, and Jerusalem’s district prosecutor filed indictments against the suspects on Thursday. One of the Hamas members, 20-year-old Ziad Abu Hadoan, previously served time in prison for violent actions at the Temple Mount holy site. He was released in October 2015. Another member, 36-year-old Maher Qawasmeh, also served time in prison for planning terror plots for Hamas.

The investigation by Israeli authorities revealed that the Hamas members had been planning the kidnapping for a year. They also planned to use explosives in a terror attack for which they purchased chemical materials, Israeli media reported.

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