Israel Busts Ringleader of Iran-directed Terror Cell

The agent was directed by Iran’s Quds Force and Hezbollah and was sentenced to prison in Israel.

By Aryeh Savir, TPS

Yasmin Jaber, a resident of the Old City of Jerusalem who worked at the National Library of Israel, was sentenced on Sunday to two and a half years in prison after being convicted of membership in the Hezbollah terror organization.

Jaber was arrested in August 2020 by the Shin Bet.

Along with her, other suspects from Jerusalem and Ramallah were arrested. The suspects operated as an organized cell, led by Jaber. Tasnim Al-Qadi, a resident of Ramallah who has lived in Turkey in recent years, is one of the suspects.

The investigation revealed that Hezbollah organizes youth conferences in Lebanon to locate potential recruits from Israel who can promote terrorist activity in Israel. Jaber was marked by Hezbollah operatives during a conference she attended in Lebanon in 2015.

To maintain the confidentiality of her identity, she was given an operational nickname by the unit – “Racheel.”

During another visit by Jaber to Lebanon in 2016, Attaya Abu Samhadna and Muhammad al-Hajj Musa, known operatives in the joint Iranian Quds Force-Hezbollah terror unit, linked her to a senior terrorist operative in this unit known as “Fares Awda.”

“Fares Awda” is the nickname of Hezbollah operative Jaafar Kabisi, who is known to be involved in further attempts to recruit assets in Israel for terrorist activities.

Since her recruitment by Hezbollah, Jaber has been in secret contact with an operator, through the transmission of agreed-upon secret messages on social media, in accordance with instructions she received from Hezbollah.

Meetings were held with her in Turkey, during which she was instructed by Ranad Wahba, a Hezbollah operative in the joint terrorist unit, who used the operational nickname “Wafaa.”

At these meetings, Jaber was instructed to recruit additional activists in Israel who would serve in a squad under her command. Hezbollah emphasized the importance of recruiting elements from among Israeli Arabs, especially women, who benefit from their ability to move freely in Israel and carry out attacks.

According to the indictment, the defendant knowingly and illegally left Israel for Lebanon, knowingly had contact with foreign agents without a reasonable explanation, was a member of a terrorist organization, took part in the organization’s activities and carried out activities for the organization.

The Jerusalem District Court sentenced Jaber, 26, following a plea agreement signed with her, in which she was convicted of offenses of contact with a foreign agent, membership in a terrorist organization and unlawful exit of the country. She was also fined NIS 5,000.