BICOM

Israeli security forces have revealed that several Gazans were arrested last month over a plot against an Israeli navy vessel.

The Shin Bet security services said it arrested 10 Palestinians, including a man charged on Wednesday, in connection with the plot on 12 March. The suspects allegedly planned to use one boat to distract an Israeli Navy ship by intentionally breaching Israel’s maritime blockade, while a second vessel would be used to launch an anti-tank Kornet guided missile at it.  A third boat planned to capture any survivors of the attack.

The plot was foiled when the Navy’s 916th Patrol Squadron stopped the Palestinian boat that had left the designated Gaza fishing zone.

The man arrested for orchestrating the attack is Amin Juma’a, a 23-year-old who is alleged to belong to terrorist organisation Islamic Jihad. Based on his confession and witness accounts, he was indicted in a Be’ersheva court on several charges, including planning to conduct a terror attack, acquiring weapons and belonging to a terrorist organisation.

The Shin Bet and IDF accused the Iranian backed Islamic Jihad of taking advantage of the “civilian comforts” granted by Israel to the residents of Gaza, specifically fishing rights, in order to “advance terror attacks”.

It is believed the attempted attack was revenge for Israel destroying an Islamic Jihad tunnel in late October. Ten Islamic Jihad operatives were killed when the tunnel collapsed.

Commenting on the arrests, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that it proved “the true intentions of the terrorist organisations in Gaza, who are trying to disguise their murderous plans in organizing provocations at the security fence, whose entire purpose is to provide cover for terrorists to conduct terror attacks against Israel.”