The Shin Bet revealed on Wednesday that in recent weeks, an investigation conducted with the cooperation of the IDF and the Jerusalem police revealed how Hamas operatives used unsuspecting Israelis to move packages in preparation for them transferring explosives or weapons to be used for terror attacks in Israel.
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The ruse was carried out by the West Bank Command, an organization within Hamas in Gaza, run mostly by former Palestinian prisoners, originally from the West Bank, who were released in 2011, in exchange for abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit who was held captive by Hamas for five years.
Within that organization, they manned what they called the Project Department, which worked to carry out terror attacks in the West Bank and inside Israel.
Forces gathered intelligence, confiscated computers and documents in a raid on the departments officers in Gaza, where terror infrastructure, in place before the war,was also found.
One document that was found detailed contact Hamas operatives in Gaza had with Jewish Israelis residing in the Jerusalem area, who in September were sent on errands for the operatives. More Jewish Israelis were identified to have been contacted through fake Facebook accounts, operated by Hamas, presenting them as Israelis living abroad and requiring deliveries in Israel, for pay.
Those fake accounts, some appearing to be women, posted ads seeking delivery men and women around the country, in relevant Facebook groups. After initial contact was made, communications then continued on WhatsApp, in written messages, while the Hamas operatives avoided phone conversations so as not to reveal themselves.
The Israelis were asked to deliver packages, receive payment, buy gifts and leave them at locations such as synagogues, cemeteries and on the door step of homes around the country, without ever arranging to meet the recipients.
The Shin Ben believes, based on its knowledge of the Hamas's West Bank Command, that the unsuspecting Israelis were unbeknownst to them, rehearsing for transport of explosive devices and weapons to terrorists planning attacks in Israel or alternatively to place bombs meant to explode in public areas or at private homes, identified by Hamas as future targets.