Israeli security services claim they ‘foiled Hamas plans to attack football stadium’

Violence has surged in recent weeks in Jerusalem amid tension over access to a holy site in an Israeli-annexed part of the city

Israel has claimed that it foiled plans by Hamas to attack Israelis in Jerusalem’s largest football stadium, other parts of the city and the occupied West Bank. Hamas said it had no information concerning the allegations.

Israel’s Shin Bet security service said it had arrested 30 members of the group in September, some of whom had received weapons and explosives training from Hamas militants in Jordan and Gaza.

Planning for the attacks against a number of targets, including Jerusalem’s Teddy Stadium and the city’s light railway, took place in Turkey by members of Hamas, Shin Bet said in a statement.

In Gaza, a Hamas spokesman said: “We have no information about these Israeli claims. It is clear Israel wanted to create a news story to divert the world’s attention away from the escalation in Jerusalem.”

Violence has surged in recent weeks in Jerusalem amid tension over access to a holy site in an Israeli-annexed part of the city, home to the al-Aqsa mosque and the historical site of the Jewish Temple.

Eleven Israelis have died, including five killed by Palestinians in a Jerusalem synagogue. Twelve Palestinians have also been killed, including several of those who carried out the attacks.

Shots fired at an Israeli army vehicle along the Gaza border on Thursday caused damage but no casualties, the military said in a statement.

Reuters