Shin Bet Claims To Thwart Hamas Plan To Kill Israeli Right Winged Minister Ben-Gvir

Itamar Ben-Gvir. (Wikimedia Commons/DedaSasha)

JAKARTA - Israel's internal security agency and counterintelligence Shin Bet announced that it had succeeded in thwarting the assassination plot of one of Israel's senior ministers.

Shin Bet said it managed to thwart the cell plan of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the West Bank to kill Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

The killer candidates are trying to kill the right-wing minister with explosives-laden drones, according to the agency's statement, quoted from The Times of Israel September 3.

The suspects, who have been arrested by security forces in recent weeks, are members of the Hebron-based Hamas cell.

They allegedly bought several drones and planned to install explosives in them. The drones were confiscated after their arrest.

Meanwhile, Ben-Gvir himself said the militant group Hamas had tried to kill him five times.

Ben-Gvir thanked the Shin Bet security service, Israel's Prison Service, police, and other agencies for their hard work in protecting him after the disclosure of Hamas' plans to kill him.

"I will not be afraid and will not be afraid! Hamas has tried to kill me five times, and every time they fail, this time too," he said in a video statement.

"I will continue to lead a hardline policy in Israeli prisons against terror, demanding a full victory in Gaza, and removing Hamas from the map. Terrorists should know: instead of hurting us we will hurt them, wherever and whenever," said Ben Gvir.

It is known, Ben-Gvir is an Israeli minister who is famous for his controversial policies and actions. He wanted an absolute Israeli victory in the Gaza Strip and killed Hamas. He also made several provocations at the Al Aqsa Mosque Complex.

His latest act when provoking Fatah Leader Marwan Barghouthi in Israel's Ramon Prison was criticized by the United Nations. The Dutch government, Slovenian, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and a number of other countries imposed sanctions of banning entry and freezing assets against him along with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

The sanctions were imposed because the two ministers were deemed inciting settlers' violence against Palestinians, encouraging the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank and calling for ethnic cleansing in Gaza.