Turkey based Terrorists from Hamas 'planned to topple Palestinian Authority.

Turkey based Terrorists from Hamas 'planned to topple Palestinian Authority. (JPost).

Shin Bet, IDF say plot was orchestrated by Hamas overseas headquarters located in Turkey, and centered on a string of mass casualty terror attacks on Israeli targets; 93 suspects arrested so far.

A large-scale Hamas terrorist formation in the West Bank and Jerusalem planned to destabilize the region through a series of deadly terror attacks in Israel and then topple the Fatah-ruled Palestinian Authority, the Shin Bet said Monday. 

The Turkey-based Hamas overseas headquarters orchestrated the plot which centered on a string of mass casualty terror attacks on Israeli targets, the Shin Bet added.

The end goal was to destabilize the Palestinian territories and use the instability to carry out a military coup, overthrowing the government of PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

The Hamas infrastructure relied on support from cells in neighboring Jordan, and on couriers who delivered terrorist finances, totaling at least two million shekels, which were used to purchase weapons and homes that were used as hideouts, according to the investigation.

Ninety three Hamas members are in Israeli custody, and the Shin Bet has questioned 46 so far. Security forces plan to indict some 70 suspects. The investigation began in May, and is ongoing, security sources said.

The Shin Bet named senior Hamas leader Salah Al-Aruri, who is currently based in Turkey, as the mastermind behind the terrorist infrastructure.

The infrastructure's local nerve center was in Ramallah, where the PA is based, but cells branched out throughout 46 Palestinian cities, towns and villages.

Khaled Mashaal, Hamas's overseas wing leader in Qatar, was aware of the plot, the sources said, though there was no involvement from Hamas in Gaza.

"The terrorists planned to undermine security, and launch a third intifada. They planned disturbances in the Temple Mount to rile the Palestinian masses. They were waiting for talks between the Israel and PA to collapse," the source said.

During questioning, Riad Nasser allegedly said all of the operatives worked according to a plan devised by Al-Aruri designed to lead to a collapse of the PA's rule.

"The exposure of this infrastructure, one of the largest we have encountered, underlines the high danger posed by Hamas's overseas headquarters," the Shin Bet said in a statement.

The investigation uncovered deep ties between Hamas operatives in Turkey and operatives in Judea and Samaria, as well as Hamas's strategy to topple the Palestinian Authority, it added. 

Some of the planned attacks were meant to take place in recent weeks, during Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza, in order to open a second front of fighting, the intelligence agency added. Hmmmm....All islamist roads lead to turkey, can we finally designate them as 'State sponsor of terrorism? Read the full story here.