How Hamas plotted to assassinate Ben-Gvir

The Shin Bet security agency said on Wednesday that four suspects had been arrested. Investigators now say the cell planned to strike during the upcoming Jewish holiday season at Hebron’s Cave of the Patriarchs, where they believed Ben-Gvir would pray.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir

(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky, Shin Bet)

According to police, one of the suspects moved to Turkey several years ago, where he made contact with Hamas. During the war in Gaza, he allegedly conceived the idea of assassinating Ben-Gvir using armed drones. The men operated in secret, fearing detection, and began tracking the minister on social media.

The suspects allegedly received about $2,000 from contacts in Turkey to buy drones and equipment. Police said they purchased two DJI drones, attached explosives and carried out a successful test drop. The men later scouted ways to monitor Ben-Gvir’s movements offline and planned to fly the drones over the Hebron shrine while he prayed.

An additional experiment reportedly went wrong when an explosive detonated during assembly, prompting the group to consider switching to firearms. That idea was dropped, fearing security cameras would expose them.

Officials said Hamas maintains an operational base in Istanbul, where senior figures expelled in a 2011 prisoner swap for captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit have been allowed to reside. Turkey restricts their stays to three months at a time, but the militants view the country as a safe hub for travel and coordination.

The Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron

(Photo: HAZEM BADER / AFP)

A Hamas-linked source told Ynet the group maintains “good relations” with Ankara under clear security understandings, adding that Turkey treats Hamas “with respect but in moderation.” Any violation of these terms could trigger deportations, the source said.

The alleged plot is the latest to be tied to Hamas’s Turkey-based leadership. Last year, a suicide bomber dispatched from the West Bank was killed before reaching his target, and a separate Hamas cell in Tel Aviv was broken up weeks later. Investigators said that group, too, had received funding and direction from Hamas operatives in Turkey.

Israeli officials have long accused Ankara of sheltering Hamas figures. Turkey has granted citizenship to several senior members, even as Israel warns that its territory is being used to orchestrate attacks.