The Palestinian Authority (PA) foiled an attack planned by a woman from the West Bank who was in contact with ISIS-affiliated activists in Syria and the Gaza Strip, according to an Israeli report.
The report, published by Yedioth Ahronoth, stated that the attack was supposed to be carried out by Ala Bashir, 23, who was arrested by the PA two weeks ago and remains in its custody. She is accused of being affiliated with foreign parties linked to ISIS and was planning an attack against Israeli targets.
The newspaper stated that Bashir hails from Jinsafut near Kalkilya and is a teacher of Quranic studies.
The PA said that the attack was aimed at destabilizing the region.
It is unusual for security forces to arrest Palestinian women and it is usually followed by online campaigns calling for their immediate release. In response, the PA was forced to release a vague statement about Bashir’s arrest.
The Palestinian opposition criticized the PA, accusing it of arresting Bashir for belonging to the Hamas movement. Activists launched an online campaign in support of the detainee and calling for her release.
The PA’s Preventive Security Service (PSS), whose members detained the suspect, issued a statement on May 14 explaining the details of the arrest.
She was taken into custody based on information that certain parties, which had contributed to the destabilization of surrounding Arab countries, had exploited her difficult psychological and social condition.
The parties sought to “incite and recruit the woman, with the help of some members of illegal armed militias, to harm the Palestinian security forces in the West Bank,” added the statement.
Bashir was arrested in accordance with the law, explained the PSS, adding that her lawyers were allowed to visit her in prison.
A high-ranking Palestinian source told Yedioth Ahronoth that Bashir was arrested for her close contacts with ISIS and planning a terrorist attack. She joined ISIS after she was approached on the Telegram instant messaging app to set out on a suicide mission.
The foiled attempt comes at a time of strained relations between the PA and Israel following the cut-off of Palestinian tax revenues as a punishment for the Authority for paying salaries of families of fighters and prisoners.
This is not the first time the Authority foils plots against Israel. The PA bans any action from Palestinian territories to avoid dragging the region into a "violent" spiral.
Joint security coordination usually takes place between Palestinian and Israeli security services, but it has been severely damaged by successive disagreements.
President Mahmoud Abbas is now threatening to stop this coordination altogether, with the cancellation of broader agreements with Israel in response to the yet-to-be revealed US “deal of the century” peace proposal and the stalemate of the political process.
