Israel’s leading newspaper, Haaretz, reported that students in Malaysia have been conducting operations as part of Hamas training.

According to the newspaper, Israel’s internal security service Shin Bet has again asserted that Hamas is training West Bank Palestinian students in Malaysia to conduct operations as part of the Islamic organisation’s military wing. A report published on 28 April said that the students are meant to operate undercover upon their return to the West Bank.

The claims, the newspaper reported, appear “in an indictment filed on 18 March in the Judea Military Court against a Hebron resident, Waseem Qawasmeh, 24, charged with belonging to and being active in a banned organisation, making contact with the enemy and receiving money from an enemy.” Qawasmeh was arrested on 13 February at the Allenby Bridge upon returning from Malaysia via Jordan.

According to Shin Bet, Hamas men in Malaysia recruit Palestinian students studying in the country. They also prepare the students ideologically, requiring them to join the Muslim Brotherhood and Palestinian charities that operate in Malaysia.