INTERIOR Secretary Eduardo Año yesterday said individuals are being monitored in connection with the reported plan of the Middle East-based Hamas militant group to establish a foothold in the Philippines and launch attacks on foreigners staying here.
Año also said the plan, which was made public by the PNP Intelligence Group on Tuesday, was uncovered by the police last year and appear to have been preempted but intelligence personnel are still monitoring several personalities just to be sure.
“There are no indicators that that they are really on the verge of implementing it (plan to establish foothold),” he said.
The military said it is unaware of the plan.
“Sorry we don’t have info regarding this,” said Col. Jorry Baclor, chief of the Armed Forces’ public affairs office.
National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon said the information released by the PNP is an old one and he has no updates.
Año said personalities named in the PNP report “are now under surveillance and monitoring,” noting Hamas can take advantage of social media to pursue its plan.
“The PNP Intelligence Group is into this, they’re monitoring the movement of these Filipinos who are reportedly (involved),” said Año, adding the effort is coordinated with the Anti-Terrorism Council.
The PNP Intelligence Group on Tuesday said it has uncovered a Hamas plan to recruit Filipinos who will be “utilized to kill Jews present in the country, conduct rallies at the Israeli embassy and spread (of) video propaganda against Israel.”
It said the information came from a “Filipino source” who was approached in 2016 by Fares Al Shikl, head of the foreign liaison section of Hamas and a resident of Turkey.
The “local contact” reportedly made several trips to Malaysia from 2016 to 2018 to discuss the possibility of launching attacks in the Philippines in exchange for financial assistance.
It was not the first time Hamas tried to establish presence in the country. In January 2018, police operatives arrested Iraqi aha Mohammed Ahmed al-Jibouri in Pampanga, who was described by the police as a “chemist with knowledge on explosives” and “closely affiliated with Hamas.
