Hamas assassination-kidnap conspiracy busted in East Jerusalem

Shooting attacks on Israeli public figures and the abduction of soldiers were part of a terror conspiracy indictment filed against a five-member Hamas cell based in East Jerusalem before a Jerusalem court on Tuesday. One assassination target was the right-wing religious lawmaker Itamar Ben Gvir. A Shin Bet investigation bust the cell last month in time to avert those crimes. The group led by Rashid Rashek, a prominent Hamas member living in the Old City of Jerusalem, was also responsible for inflaming violence on Temple Mount during the Ramadan festival, with the help of fire crackers, rocks and Hamas flags previously stored in the Al Aqsa Mosque.

The suspects had also acquired a drone to be loaded with explosives for attacking the light rail in the capital, along with a camera for photographing their hostages. Both were presented to the court in evidence.