Gaza’s ruling Hamas terrorist organization has appointed one of its prominent members, Maher Obaid, to head the group’s terror operations in Judea and Samaria.
Obaid, a veteran of the Israeli prison system, was banished to southern Lebanon in December, 1992 by Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin, along with 414 other Hamas operatives. He is currently believed to be operating from Beirut, coordinating operations for the Hamas “Judea & Samaria Desk,” which operates out of Gaza.
The Hamas “Judea & Samaria Desk” consists of terrorists from Palestinian Authority-controlled areas in Judea and Samaria who were released in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange and deported to Gaza. Their knowledge of the Judea and Samaria region is utilized in planning terror attacks.
Obaid will supervise three new “divisions” that will be supervised by the following individuals:
Abeda-Rahman Ranimat, who will be responsible for the area from Gaza to the southern area of Judea and Samaria;
Abdullah Arar, to be responsible for the central area of Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem; and
Fursahn Halifa, who will be responsible for the northern area of Judea and Samaria.
Hamas has not officially claimed responsibility for Tuesday night’s vicious terror attack in which Palestinian Authority killers fired 22 bullets at point-blank range while driving past the vehicle in which Gilad Farms resident Rabbi Raziel Shevach, 35, was driving.
Nevertheless, the terrorist group issued a statement warmly supporting of the murder as a “heroic action that came as a result of Israel’s crimes against our people in Judea, Samaria, Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Israeli government bears the consequences of its racist and extremist policies.”
Yona Schnitzer and TPS contributed content to this report.
