Israels Shin Bet security service announced Sunday it had arrested members of a Palestinian cell who were plotting to assassinate Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman in a roadside bombing while on his way to his hometown Nokdim settlement in Gush Etzio. According to the Shin Bet investigation, the group of Islamic Jihad sought assistance in carrying out the attack from activists in the Gaza Strip. But the agency said the group was “deterred” by Lieberman’s security detail and the plot was foiled. The statement did not specify when the arrests took place, but sources indicated it had been recent. To arrive in Nokdim, Lieberman passes through several Palestinian towns and his security detail combs the streets regularly. The statement said six suspects linked to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad were involved in the plot to detonate an explosive device underneath Lieberman’s car while it was traveling in the West Bank. The ringleaders of the cell were identified as Awad Mahmoud al-Asakra, 25, and Muhammad Ali Ibrahim al-Asakra, 32, who both live in Asakra town near Lieberman ’s house. Asakra had been jailed for two years between 2015 and 2017. The suspects told Shin Bet investigators they sought assistance from groups in the Gaza Strip to buy the materials for the bomb. When they were unable to purchase the materials or secure assistance from Gaza, the group built a homemade device. The bomb was confiscated during their arrest. This is not the first time Shin Bet uncovers a plot to kill Lieberman. In 2014, when Lieberman was foreign minister, Hamas sought to target his convoy on his way home with an RPG. The plot failed too, and the cell was arrested. Shin Bet also announced another Islamic Jihad cell was taken into custody following the arrest of the members operating in Bethlehem area villages in the West Bank. They had been recruited to carry out shooting attacks on Israeli residents and Israeli troops in the vicinity of the Gush Etzion settlement bloc south of Jerusalem. No further details were given on the second cell.