Shin Bet reveals effort by Iran Quds Force and Hezbollah to recruit Palestinian Arabs to smuggle arms.
By Ben Rappaport, United with Israel
Israel’s Shin Bet security agency on Monday revealed that it had thwarted an attempt by the Hezbollah terror group and the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to recruit Palestinians from Judea and Samaria to carry out terror acts, according to reports in Israeli media.
In recent months, two Palestinian residents of Judea and Samaria, Yousef Mansour and Marsil Mansour, were arrested by the Shin Bet. During the subsequent investigation, it emerged that the two had been contacted by officials associated with the Hezbollah terror group, and had agreed to smuggle and distribute arms in Palestinian Authority-administrated areas, while assisting criminal elements in Israel.
The Hezbollah officials were identified as Huda Mahana and Haj Muhammad Radwan, also known as “Muhammad Bashir.” According to intelligence information, the two belong to a unit in the Iranian Quds Force tasked with assisting Palestinian terror groups in Judea and Samaria.
The Quds Force is commanded by Esmail Qaani, whom The Wall Street Journal on Friday reported had personally coordinated rocket attacks on Israel launched over the Passover holiday.
It was revealed that, at the request of the Hezbollah officials, Yousef agreed to gather information about IDF activity in Judea and Samaria and to recruit others to promote terror activity.
On a number of occasions, the Hezbollah officials transferred funds to Yousef with the assistance of Marsil.
It was also discovered that Yousef made use of a special computer program for encrypting content, as well as a dedicated email address, in his contacts with “Muhammad Bashir.”
Following the Shin Bet investigation, an indictment was filed against the two for severe security-related offenses.