The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet — Israel’s version of the FBI — claim they uncovered evidence of an Iranian plan to forward advanced weaponry into the West Bank, The Times of Israel reported Monday.
The IDF investigation revealed that the unit behind the plot was the Iranian Revolutionary Guards working alongside Munir Makdah, a senior Fatah official in Lebanon, who, according to the Shin Bet, has a history of “working for Hezbollah and the IRGC, and continues to try and advance terror attacks these days,” the outlet noted. (RELATED: Biden Admin Greenlights Access To $10 Billion For Iran: REPORT)
Makdah’s role in this operation was allegedly to recruit West Bank Palestinians to smuggle in advanced Iranian weapons and carry out terror attacks, the outlet reported. The IDF, acting on this intelligence, managed to seize a “significant” quantity of advanced weaponry from Iran, The Times of Israel noted.
“Among the weapons captured were two large BTB15 fragmentation bombs, five YM-2 anti-tank landmines with fuses, four M203 grenade launchers, 15 kilograms of C4 explosives, 10kg of Semtex plastic explosives, 13 shoulder-launched anti-tank missiles, 15 RPG launchers, 16 RPG-7 rockets and propellent, 15 hand grenades, 33 M4 assault rifles, and 50 handguns,” Emanuel Fabian, a military correspondent for The Times of Israel, tweeted alongside a photo and a video of the weapons cache.
The Shin Bet security agency reveals that it recently foiled attempts by Iran to smuggle large shipments of advanced weapons to terror operatives in the West Bank to be used to carry out attacks on Israeli targets.
According to the Shin Bet, behind the plot was Iran’s unit 4000,… pic.twitter.com/en0BaADJ21
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 25, 2024
Joe Truzman, a senior analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, commented on Twitter that “this has to be the most significant haul of advanced weapons I have seen in the West Bank” since he first began tracking terrorist violence in the area in 2021.
I’ve been tracking the uptick in terrorist-led violence in the West Bank since late 2021 and this has to be the most significant haul of advanced weapons I have seen in the West Bank during that time. https://t.co/6qBkiJcSP3
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) March 25, 2024
The Shin Bet vowed to “continue to carry out active measures at all times to monitor and thwart any activity that endangers the security of the State of Israel and its citizens, to expose and harm the Iranians’ efforts to carry out terror activities within Israel’s territory and will work to bring those involved to justice” according to an agency statement, the Times of Israel reported.