Israeli authorities have arrested senior officials from the Health Work Committees (HWC), an organization Israel designated as a terrorist group in 2020 over its alleged ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), as the country\u2019s security establishment reports confronting both terrorist threats and foreign influence operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The arrests come as Channel 12 reported Thursday that the Shin Bet recently thwarted multiple alleged plots targeting Israel\u2019s political and security leadership. The broadcaster also said the agency dismantled several foreign-run social media operations that it believes were intended to influence Israeli public opinion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Among the networks\u00a0identified\u00a0was a Telegram channel known as Bnei Eretz, which allegedly presented itself as an Israeli platform while being\u00a0operated\u00a0by what Channel 12 described as a \u201chostile foreign actor.\u201d According to the report, Israeli security officials expect such campaigns to become more frequent ahead of the country\u2019s upcoming legislative elections as foreign actors\u00a0seek\u00a0to capitalize on political divisions and social tensions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The detention of HWC officials prompted a renewed warning from NGO Monitor founder and president Prof. Gerald M. Steinberg, who argued that the arrests highlight what he described as the organization\u2019s longstanding links to the PFLP.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Steinberg noted that Israel\u00a0designated\u00a0HWC as a terrorist organization in 2020, yet the group has continued\u00a0operating\u00a0in the West Bank. He said several senior officials and employees\u2014including the organization\u2019s former general director, former fundraiser and at least three people who held financial positions\u2014have been convicted of terror-related offenses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He also criticized continued European support for the organization, singling out Belgium as a donor despite Israel\u2019s designation of HWC.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is yet another example of how terror groups like the PFLP repeatedly exploit the NGO facade,\u201d Steinberg said. \u201cWe call on donor states to immediately halt any remaining funding to HWC based on its leaders\u2019 ongoing ties with the PFLP.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Channel 12 did not\u00a0identify\u00a0the foreign actor allegedly behind the online influence campaigns or provide\u00a0additional\u00a0details about the alleged terror plots or the arrests of the HWC officials.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
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