JERUSALEM, June 13 (Reuters) - A pregnant Palestinian mother of eight and her niece told Israeli interrogators they planned a double suicide bombing in Israel after they were detained last month, Israel's Shin Bet security service said on Wednesday.

Citing what it said were confessions the two women made after their arrest trying to leave the Gaza Strip, it said Fatima Zak and Ruda Habib were recruited by militant group Islamic Jihad and applied to enter Israel for medical treatment.

Zak, 39, and Habib, 30, said they were to have travelled to the West Bank, received explosives from local militants, and then re-entered Israel for the attack, the Shin Bet said.

Islamic Jihad and other militants have carried out scores of suicide bombings in a Palestinian revolt that erupted in 2000, though such attacks have tailed off in recent months. Islamic Jihad had no immediate comment on Shin Bet's allegations.

Most suicide bombers have been men though sometimes militants have turned to women because, Israeli officials say, they draw less scrutiny at Israel's security checkpoints.

The Shin Bet, which had previously kept a gag order on the women's arrests, described Zak as a pregnant mother of eight who has worked for Islamic Jihad's welfare branch. Habib, Zak's niece, has four children, the Shin Bet said.

AlertNet news is provided by