The Shin Bet said on Thursday that it had uncovered an Islamic Jihad plot to carry out an attack in Be'er Sheva and kidnap an Israeli soldier.

The security service and the police said they arrested the members of an Islamic Jihad cell that was planning a major attack on a wedding hall in the southern city of Be'er Sheva.

The suspects planned to carry out the wedding hall attack by throwing grenades at the people dancing and setting off explosives concealed in the furniture while using weapons hidden in trash cans outside, according to the indictment. This, in addition to the kidnapping and murder of a policeman, officer or soldier.

Indictments were filed against three Palestinians who entered Israel illegaly and an Israeli citizen from Tel Sheva in the south. Charges included security-related offenses such as contacting a foreign agent and conspiring to assist an enemy.

Mahmoud Yusuf Hassin Abu Taha, a resident of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, was arrested on September 21 when he tried to enter Israel through the Erez crossing, supposedly for business purposes. The Shin Bet said theyt learned during his interrogation that Abu Taha headed a terrorist cell directed by the Islamic Jihad in Gaza. The news of his arrest was only cleared for release on Thursday.

Open gallery view A wedding hall in Be'er Sheva, the target of an Islamic Jihad plot. Credit: Eliyahu Hershkovitz

Abu Taha was recruited by a senior Islamic Jihad activist in Gaza, Wa'il Sufyan Abu Taha, who instructed him to organize a military foundation for the terrorist cell and prepare to carry out the attacks.

Mahmoud Abu Taha recruited three others for the mission, and these suspects were also arrested.

One of the people arrested is Shafiq Hamad Ahmad Abu Taha, 55, from the Gaza Strip, who was living in Israel illegally. He was employed in the wedding hall where they planned to conduct the attack. Another suspect, Ahmad Taysir Abed Al-Rahman Abu Taha, 39, from the Gaza Strip, was also living in Israel illegally. The last suspect, Rani Masoud Nassir Abu Amara, 40, originally from Dir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip, now lives in Tel Sheva.

Investigators found that Mahmoud Abu Taha and Shafiq Abu Taha made a preliminary visit to the wedding hall in order to plan for the attack, considering how they could maximize the number of victims.

At the same time, Mahmoud Abu Taha began planning the kidnapping and murder of an Israeli soldier. He received thousands of shekels from Islamic Jihad to plan and carry out such an attack to use for logistical things like renting an apartment in Israel. The plan was to lure the soldier to the apartment, where the suspects would then murder him. They then planned to bury him secretly, before smuggling his belongings into Gaza where they would be used by the organization as part of a plan to negotiate with Israel.

Indictments were filed against all four of the suspects on Thursday in Be'er Sheva District Court.

The Shin Bet said the affair shows the way terrorist groups exploit entry permits into Israel, which are granted for humanitarian and economic reasons; as well as the danger of the terrorists' use of Palestinians who are residing in Israel illegally.