Israel’s General Security Services (Shin Bet) revealed on Monday that it thwarted an attempt by Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to recruit Palestinian Authority Arabs living in Judea and Samaria to carry out acts of terror and espionage.
In recent months, two residents of Judea and Samaria – Yosef Mansour and Marsil Mansour – were arrested for investigation by the Shin Bet. During the course of the Shin Bet’s investigation, it emerged that the Mansours had been recruited into a network overseen by Iranian operatives Huda Mahana and Haj Muhammad Radwan, also known as “Mohammed Bashir.”
The Mansours agreed to smuggle and distribute weapons into Israel and assist criminal elements.
At the request of Mahana and Bashir, Yosef Mansour agreed to gather information for Hezbollah about Israeli military activities in Judea and Samaria and to recruit additional operatives to promote terror activity. Hezbollah transferred funds to Yosef with the assistance of Marsil on several occasions.
The Shin Bet said that Yosef used dedicated software for encrypting content and a dedicated email when contacting Bashir.
According to intelligence information, Bashir and Mahana belong to the Quds Force, a unit in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) believed to be assisting Arab terror organizations in Judea and Samaria. the Palestinian Authority.
The Quds Force is responsible for extraterritorial and clandestine operations. It oversees Iran’s relations with terror proxies such as Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iraqi militias by providing weapons, money, training and other forms of support.
It has also been linked to plots against Israeli interests in far-flung locations such as Colombia, Cyprus, India, Azerbaijan, Thailand, Turkey, Kenya and more.
According to American media reports, the current leader of the Quds Force, Maj. Gen. Esmail Qaani, personally coordinated recent rocket attacks on Israel from Lebanon.
Qaani became head of the Quds Force in 2020 following the assassination of Qassem Soleimani in a US air strike.
