IDF and Shin Bet Raid Charities Accused of Ties to Hamas and PFLP

The IDF and Shin Bet have uncovered cooperation between so-called “charity organizations” in Ramallah and Yatta and terrorist organizations in Judea and Samaria, the IDF Spokesperson said Wednesday.

Security forces completed two targeted operations against the illegal “charity organizations,” which were allegedly being used as offices for terrorist groups. Five operatives were arrested on suspicion of cooperating with Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Raids in Ramallah and Yatta

According to the IDF, forces raided the offices of the Addameer charity organization in Ramallah. During the operation, wanted individuals were arrested and computers, documents, and checkbooks bearing markings associated with designated Hamas funds were confiscated.

The IDF said Addameer is funded by terrorist money and works to provide legal assistance to PFLP terrorists imprisoned in Israel. Some of the terrorists working for the organization were involved in the August 23, 2019 attack at Ein Dani in which Rina Shnerb was murdered.

In a separate operation against centers of incitement and terrorism, IDF forces, directed by the Shin Bet, raided the offices of the Islamic Society for the Care of Orphans in the town of Yatta, in the Judea Brigade area. Wanted individuals were arrested, and materials bearing markings associated with designated Hamas funds were confiscated. The detainees and seized materials were transferred to security forces for further investigation.

IDF Says Charities Served as Terror Infrastructure

The organization, which was declared an illegal association, allegedly served as an organizational and financial arm of Hamas, including by transferring money to the terrorist organization and supporting the families of terrorists and prisoners. Its director and other senior officials are Hamas operatives who have previously been imprisoned.

According to the IDF, the association served as infrastructure for strengthening Hamas’s standing in Yatta while exploiting its ostensibly civilian activities.