IDF and Shin Bet Expose Terror Fronts Posing as Charities

The IDF and the Shin Bet raided the offices of the Addameer Charity Association in Ramallah on Tuesday, The Jerusalem Post reports, and the military confirmed on Wednesday that forces also hit the Islamic Association for the Care of Orphans in Yatta, near Hebron. According to the military, both groups acted as fronts for Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Five terrorist collaborators were arrested. Forces seized computers, documents and checkbooks bearing markers associated with Hamas.

Addameer presents itself as a prisoner rights association, The Jewish Edition reports. The IDF said it receives terrorist funding and provides legal assistance to imprisoned PFLP terrorists. Its history is dark. A previous Israeli government report identified Samer Arbeed, a former Addameer accountant, as the commander of the PFLP cell behind the August 23, 2019 bombing at Ein Dani Spring, near Dolev. That attack murdered 17-year-old Rina Shnerb and wounded her father and brother. In October 2021, then-Defense Minister Benny Gantz designated Addameer and five other organizations as terrorist organizations over their PFLP ties, and he made the designation permanent in August 2022. Israeli authorities also reported that the network received funding from European governments and international organizations.

The Yatta raid came in recent weeks, with soldiers acting on Shin Bet intelligence, The Jewish Edition reports. The military said the orphan association served as an organizational hub and financial arm of Hamas, moving money directly to the terrorist organization and to family members of Hamas terrorists. In the military's words, it "serves as infrastructure for entrenching the Hamas terrorist organization’s standing in Yatta, while exploiting its purportedly civilian activities." Its director and other senior officials have been imprisoned in the past.

Ynetnews reports that the Yatta raid also turned up findings bearing signs of declared Hamas funds. The detainees and the seized materials were handed over for further investigation.

Meanwhile, IDF Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir toured Judea and Samaria with Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth and approved plans for continued operations in the area, the Post reports. He is sending the 98th Division there to "strengthen security and stability in the area." Zamir said: "The IDF is at a high level of readiness to launch extensive offensive operations against anyone who attempts to harm Israeli civilians."

What it means: a group that pays lawyers for PFLP prisoners, and a fund that pays the families of Hamas terrorists, are part of the terror machine too. Cutting off the money is part of cutting off the terror, and Israel is doing it with records in hand.

The Jerusalem Post reports that terrorists who took part in the 2019 bombing that murdered Rina Shnerb were working at Addameer at the time of the raid. The Jewish Edition adds that Samer Arbeed worked for the group until April 2017, and that the government report tied another former employee to the same cell. The Defense Ministry said the designated organizations operated as branches of the PFLP, using humanitarian work to hide terrorist financing, recruitment and organizational activity. The IDF said both groups had been declared unlawful and were being used to advance terrorist activity throughout Judea and Samaria.

Zamir's warning came out of a situational assessment with Bluth and senior Central Command officers, in which he reviewed the operational challenges in the area, the Post reports. He said the IDF must stay vigilant on every front and move fast to stop threats. In his words, "In light of the increased number of alerts across all fronts and the sensitivity of this period, the potential for escalation has grown."