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Israel’s Shin Bet Foils Hamas Plot to Kidnap Soldier in West Bank

Israeli forces during a raid on the al-Ain refugee camp in Nablus in the West Bank last month. (EPA)
Israeli forces during a raid on the al-Ain refugee camp in Nablus in the West Bank last month. (EPA)
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Israel’s Shin Bet Foils Hamas Plot to Kidnap Soldier in West Bank

Israeli forces during a raid on the al-Ain refugee camp in Nablus in the West Bank last month. (EPA)
Israeli forces during a raid on the al-Ain refugee camp in Nablus in the West Bank last month. (EPA)

The Israeli Army Radio reported Monday that the General Security Service (Shin Bet) foiled a Hamas attempt to kidnap an Israeli soldier in the West Bank and carry out other operations, according to the Arab World News Agency.

The radio quoted a Shin Bet statement confirming the arrest of nine people who prepared a plan to kidnap the soldier, monitor army positions, and obtain intelligence information.

According to the statement, the detainees mapped escape routes and prepared a place to hide the abductee.

The Shin Bet said that the group was from Biddu village, near Ramallah, and they had explosive devices prepared in their own laboratory.

Hamas is yet to comment on the announcement.

The German news agency quoted Palestinian sources as saying that the Israeli army forces arrested nine Palestinians during raids.

The sources added that the arrests occurred in Nablus, Jenin, and Ramallah, while an explosive device was detonated after being discovered at the Hawara checkpoint, south of Nablus.

The Israeli army forces arrested two suspects who tried to cross the security barrier in the southern Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, according to the Israeli army spokesman, Avichay Adraee.

Adraee indicated they did not have weapons and were interrogated at the scene.

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Yemen’s Houthis Move Weapons to Saada to Avoid More US Attacks

A protester carries a mock rocket during a rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people, at Sanaa University, in Sanaa, Yemen, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
A protester carries a mock rocket during a rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people, at Sanaa University, in Sanaa, Yemen, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
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Yemen’s Houthis Move Weapons to Saada to Avoid More US Attacks

A protester carries a mock rocket during a rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people, at Sanaa University, in Sanaa, Yemen, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
A protester carries a mock rocket during a rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people, at Sanaa University, in Sanaa, Yemen, 15 January 2025. (EPA)

The Iran-backed Houthi militias have moved large amounts of their weapons to their main stronghold of Saada in northern Yemen to protect them against US strikes that have intensified on the Amran province in a bid to destroy the militias’ underground arms caches.

Informed Yemeni sources said the Houthis have moved rockets and drones from Amran to Saada in the north, fearing they may be targeted by US strikes.

Western strikes have already destroyed several arms depots.

The US conducted its latest strikes against Houthi positions on Friday, targeting the Harf Sufyan district in northern Amran bordering Saada.

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Houthi “weapons engineers and military maintenance” personnel moved sophisticated rockets and drones and other types of weapons to fortified caches throughout Saada.

The process was carried out in utmost secrecy and in stages to avoid detection, they added.

In Amran, the Houthis carried out a series of kidnappings against the local population, even its own supporters, on suspicion the people were collaborating with the US and Israel.

The US has carried out dozens of attacks on military positions in Harf Sufyan, destroying facilities that have been used to launch attacks against ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Harf Sufyan is considered the Houthis’ second major stronghold after Saada given its large area that spans around 2,700 square kms. It also borders four other provinces: Hajjah, al-Jawf, Saada and Sanaa.

Moreover, sources in Amran told Asharq Al-Awsat that Harf Sufyan is a major recruitment center for the Houthis, including the forced recruitment of Yemenis.

They revealed that the US strikes in the area dealt the Houthis heavy blows because they directly targeted their military positions, including a drone factory.

The sources suspected that the Americans intensified their strikes on Harf Sufyan after receiving intelligence information that the Houthis had dug tunnels and underground facilities there to hold meetings and recruit new members.