The Shin Bet has discovered a terrorist cell operating in the Ramallah area, north of Jerusalem. Members of the cell were arrested in June, but the affair was kept under wraps until Thursday.
The heads of the Hamas-affiliated cell were the top coordinators for Hamas terrorism in the entire Binyamin region.
Two of those arrested have admitted to involvement in the infamous lynch of two IDF reservists in the streets of Ramallah in 2000. The reservists were savagely murdered by a mob after being arrested by Palestinian Authority police.
Some of the killers were pictured shortly afterward smiling and waving blood-covered hands. One of the smiling murderers was arrested and jailed, but was later freed in exchange for captive soldier Gilad Shalit.
The two confessed killers have been identified as Ibrahim Taufik Maadi, 51, of Ramallah, and Yasser Ibrahim Mohammed Hatab, 40, of Ramallah. They were indicted earlier this week by a Judea and Samaria military court.
“The arrest of the two for involvement in the lynch that occurred in 2000 shows yet again that even after 12 years, security forces are working to bring all those involved to justice,” a Shin Bet spokesperson said.