NABLUS (Ma’an) -- Nablus Governor Major General Jibrin Al-Bakri spoke out Monday for the first time about a plot revealed by PA security forces which aimed at assassinating the official.
Delivering a public address in the municipality building to a visiting delegation of peace activists, joined by local officials and religious figures, Al-Bakri confirmed the media reports around the planned assassination, saying it aimed at "creating chaos in the region."
"What you read was 100 percent true," he said, adding that over and above the assassination plot, groups in the city planned to carry out targeted bomb attacks throughout the region.
The group plotting the attack, he said, "had financial resources and arms enough to execute the plan," which was revealed to Ma'an on 17 November via security sources shortly after PA forces raided the group's headquarters, seizing weapons and cash, they said.
The group were said to be members of Hamas' armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, who were in direct contact with the Hamas-run government in Gaza.
According to officials, in addition to the alleged assassination plot, the group also planned to kidnap Israeli settlers, and launch suicide attacks on Israeli targets in Jerusalem, in an effort to destabilize the situation in the West Bank.
Al-Bakri publicly thanked the security forces for "protecting the city and keeping the situation under control," and extended his thanks to "Nablus residents and institutions for standing by me."
Hamas officials did not comment on the allegations.
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