Israeli Arab suspected of collecting intelligence for Hamas

04/08/2004 An Israeli Arab resident of the Galilee was arrested on suspicion that he collected intelligence for a Hamas terror cell in the West Bank city of Hebron, the Shin Bet released for publication on Wednesday morning. Zahar Ali, resident of the Galilee village of Kaukab, who is studying for his Masters degree at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was arrested three weeks ago. Ali is suspected of having picked out the Caffit coffee shop on Jerusalem’s Emek Refaim Street as a target for a terror attack. A suicide bomber was sent to the location on July 11, but changed his mind at the last moment and returned to Hebron. The man was killed two days later in a clash with Israel Defense Forces troops who attempted to arrest him. Several other militants were arrested in Hebron in connection with the affair. According to the Shin Bet, Ali recommended numerous other targets to the Hebron cell, including a coffee shop at the university and a wedding hall in the Talpiot neighborhood. He also took photographs of a security installation in the Galilee for the purpose of planning a terror attack there.