The Shin Bet has exposed a terror cell that operated from within Israeli jails and planned the abduction of an Israeli citizen in order to bargain with his life for their own release.

The plot was exposed earlier this month and placed under a media gag order until Tuesday.

The members of the cell are residents of Hevron and Gaza. Some are serving life sentences.

The organization behind the plot is called “the Holy Warriors’ Battalions” (Katayeb Almujahedeen) which split off from a group aligned with Fatah. It is headed by one of the plotters, Assad Abu Sharia of Gaza, 35, who is in an Israeli jail.

The Shin Bet noted that the Holy Warriors’ Battalions have been involved in terror attacks in the past few years, including rocket fire at Israel, firing at IDF soldiers and setting off explosives on the security fence surrounding Gaza. The group receives financial assistance, weapons and other aid from Hamas.

Besides Abu Sharia, the terrorists involved in the plot are Mohammed Hassan Amur, Ibrahim Ghanimat – both of whom are in jail – as well as Mohammed Baraka Amur, and Ramzi Arar.

The plot was hatched when all of the suspects were serving time together in the Shikma jail. Mohammed Baraka Amur planned the abduction and gave instructions to Ramzi Arar to form a group that would carry out the abduction, and to travel to Saudi Arabia to meet with another member of the organization who would supply him with money and further instructions.