The Shin Bet (Israel’s anti-terror General Security Service) revealed Monday that it uncovered exposed attempts by the government of Iran, through its Quds Force (Al Quds is the Arabic name for Jerusalem) to recruit residents of the areas of the Palestinian Authority for the plotting and enacting of terrorist attacks in Israel. The Quds Force is known for having been used by Iran to attack American forces in Iraq.
The Quds Force is affiliated with the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an organization connected to international acts of terror. Israel’s government has been lobbying the international community not to remove the IRGC from their lists of terrorist organizations.
The news comes as the exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi arrives in Israel Monday for a historic visit. The Prince, whose father the last Shah of Iran was deposed in the 1979 revolution, will take part in Israel’s official Holocaust Memorial Day ceremonies.
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Israeli authorities said in recent months, two residents of the West Bank – Yosef Mansour and Marsil Mansour – were arrested by the Shin Bet. During their interrogation by the Shin Bet, it emerged that they responded to a direct appeal made to them on the terror network belonging to Huda Mahana and Haj Muhammad Radwan, known as “Mohammed Bashir,” two people who identified themselves as officials working on behalf of the terrorist organization Hezbollah. The arrestees then agreed to smuggle weapons to Israel and also assist criminal elements in Israel.
The investigation also revealed that at the request of the same officials on behalf of Hezbollah, Yosef agreed to gather information about the IDF’s activities in the West Bank and in Israel and to recruit additional operatives for those parties for the purpose of promoting terrorist activity. Funds were transferred to Yosef for that purpose.
The investigation also revealed that as part of the secret relationship between Yosef and “Mohammed Bashir”, Yosef used dedicated software for encrypting content and a dedicated email address.
At the end of the investigation by the Shin Bet, indictments were filed against Yosef and Marsil attributing serious security offenses to them.
According to intelligence information, it is known that “Mohammed Bashir” and Hoda Mehna belong to a unit in the Iranian Quds Force which is believed to be assisting the Palestinian terrorist organizations in the Palestinian Authority, headed by Saeed Izadi.
This investigation led to the disclosure of methods of operation of the Iranian Quds Force and Hezbollah, which work to locate and recruit operatives from IOS to promote terrorist activity, within the West Bank and Israel, against the State of Israel.