'Just a normal girl' (illustration)
Photo: AP
Palestinian girl arrested for suicide attack threat
Shin Bet apprehends 16-year old Jenin girl in Netanya after Palestinian officials allege she disappeared after telling family members she would carry out suicide attack in Israel
Ynet has learned the Shin Bet arrested a 16-year old Palestinian girl Wednesday after she threatened to carry out a suicide bombing. The intelligence reportedly came from Palestinian sources. The girl is currently still being questioned, and investigators are still unsure as to whether she genuinely intended to make good on her threat.
Palestinian sources in Jenin told Ynet that the girl was apprehended in Netanya. She reportedly declared her intent to carry out a suicide attack inside Israel to family members, disappearing soon thereafter.
Attacking Israel
Lawmaker Ahmed Abu Helbiya tells crowd of over 2,000 protestors, 'We call on all the factions to undertake efforts to contain the enemy and halt its aggression by planning martyrdom operations'
Palestinian authorities received word of her disappearance a day after she had gone missing. The Jenin coordination and liaison headquarters notified their Israeli counterparts, and the information led to the girl's arrest.
A Palestinian source in Jenin told Ynet the would-be suicide bomber was "a normal girl from a regular home in the Jenin refugee camp."
The source added that he believed the girl had not truly intended to carry out the attack, as an investigation conducted by Jenin authorities had uncovered no ties between the girl and Palestinian
organizations capable of orchestrating such attacks inside Israel, such as Islamic Jihad.
The Palestinian Authority has taken near-complete control over Jenin, seizing it from the hands of the armed groups operating there. The coordination between Palestinian officers and their Israeli counterparts is considered successful and due to this success the two authorities have been working together to establish a joint industrial zone, supported by the Middle East Quartet and President Shimon Peres.
Efrat Weiss contributed to this report
