Shin Bet thwarts abduction and terrorist attack in Eilat: Hamas operative Muhammad abu-Adara arrested last month while trying to carry out his plans in Sinai

The Shin Bet has thwarted an attempt to kidnap a soldier and carry out a terror attack in the Eilat area. After an indictment was filed against Muhammad abu-Adara, a Hamas operative from Rafah, it was released for publication that the Shin Bet arrested abu-Adara at the end of last month when he tried to carry out his plans in Sinai.

The arrest is not connected to PRC plans to carry out a terror attack on the Egyptian border, plans which had Israel raising the alert level near the border.

The indictment, which was filed with the Beersheba District Court, accuses abu-Adara of a series of offenses including contact with a foreign agent, membership in an illegal organization, conspiracy to commit a crime, intent to harm State security and other offenses.

Abu-Adara, member of a well-known Hamas family from Rafah, was arrested when he tried to infiltrate Israel with a few others through the Gaza Strip border. He was turned over to the Shin Bet for questioning where he admitted that a year ago he escaped to Sinai via a tunnel over criminal activities in Israel.

A few months after his arrival in Sinai he was approached by Yunes Shaluf, a Hamas operative from Rafah who acts as an artillery commander and who is responsible for Hamas´ observation layout in Sinai.

Shaluf asked Adara to work for Hamas in Sinai and observe and photograph Israeli military posts along the border in preparation of a terror attack. After agreeing, abu-Adara was smuggled to the Strip through a tunnel by Hamas operatives.

In Gaza he underwent an in-depth briefing and was told that his goal was to examine possible targets and locations to gather intelligence for Sinai attacks. Together the two gathered intelligence, examined security force deployment and observed the security guard posts at the crossing.

They also gathered intelligence on civilian targets, mostly in Eilat. After much planning, abu-Adara and Shaluf met in Gaza with Raed Atar, who participated in a number of terror attacks against Israeli targets and who was involved in the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit in June 2006.

Abu-Adara agreed to fire anti-tank missiles at military and civilian targets on the Israel-Sinai border as well as fire rockets from Sinai on Israel. Atar told him that the purpose of the attack would be to kidnap an Israeli soldier as well as another attack which would enable them to insert a terror cell in Eilat.

During his interrogation, abu-Adara admitted that he had agreed to help transfer a terror cell into Eilat. (Copyright 2012 © Yedioth Internet 03/21/12)