Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence service yesterday announced that it had uncovered a planned suicide terror attack on Tel Aviv, which Hamas and Islamic Jihad were to take responsibility for.

Five arrests were made during October and November in connection with the plot. Four of the suspects are men from near Tulkarm in the West Bank while the fifth is a 31-year-old woman from Jenin. The cell planned for her to be granted a permit to Israel on medical grounds, where she would be disguised as a pregnant Jewish woman and detonate a suicide vest in Tel Aviv.

The group was apparently guided by a contact in Gaza over how to prepare the explosive vest. They also planned a shooting attack and the kidnap of an Israeli soldier. During the course of the arrests, Israeli security confiscated a customized M-16, a hunting rifle, ammunition, and materials used in bomb-making. The suspects admitted to the planned attacks under Shin Bet questioning and have been charged with terror offenses by the Samaria District Court. A Shin Bet statement said that the planned bombing emphasised “the high motivation that exists among terrorist operatives to carry out attacks.” Last month, the Shin Bet announced it had uncovered a 30-strong Hamas cell planning mass terror attacks at Jerusalem’s football stadium and on the city’s light railway system.

Meanwhile, this morning a Palestinian man was killed and another wounded after a clash with Israeli special forces at Qalandiya, between Jerusalem and Ramallah. The Israeli troops were carrying out an arrest when 20-year-old Mahmoud Adwan hurled an improvised explosive device at them, according to an IDF statement. Israeli soldiers opened fire in response, killing Adwan and wounding another man who was taken for treatment and questioning. There were no injuries on the Israeli side and the IDF said that an investigation is being launched. The IDF also said that seven arrests were made across the West Bank last night, including a Hamas member.