Nasser Abu Hadir, senior Popular Front operative
Walid Habas, lynched soldier but was released
Fares Barghouti, recruited cells, purchased guns
Naal Tuhi
Sam Ransiti
Terror cell planning abductions nabbed
Shin Bet, IDF say PFLP operatives – some with Israeli citizenship – admitted to planning to abduct Israeli soldiers, plant bombs
Released for publication: A group of Palestinians belonging to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) were arrested near Ramallah on suspicion of planning a series of terrorist attacks on Israel. The Shin Bet and the IDF said that the cell was planning to kidnap Israeli soldiers, among other plots.
Some of the suspects are residents of east Jerusalem who hold Israeli citizenship.
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According to the security forces, the Palestinians were arrested while preparing to carry out the attacks. The preparations included purchasing of weapons.
The Shin Bet has interrogated more than 20 operatives who are suspected of belonging to the terrorist cell.
Prominent members of the group have extensive military experience and have been previously detained in Israel; some more than once.
Among the detainees is Nasser Abu Hadir, a 50-year-old resident of the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Shuafat who holds Israeli citizenship. He is a senior operative at the PFLP, and has a rich history of terrorist activity. In 1981 an explosive device detonated in his hands while he was preparing it, deforming his face and hands. After his release from prison in 1986, he continued with his involvement in violent activities, and has been arrested several times.
Abu Hadir confessed during Shin Bet questioning that he was responsible for military infrastructure and served as a liaison officer with the group's headquarters abroad. In February 2011, he travelled to Jordan, where he contacted senior PFLP officials in Syria to request financing for the cell's military activity, as well as help in getting members abroad for training.
The investigation also found that Abu Hadir ordered members to obtain guns and silencers. His own gun was confiscated during questioning.
Cell bought weapons, bombs
Another prominent operative who lead one military unit was Walid Habas, 31, a resident of Kfar Akab in northern Jerusalem – also an Israeli citizen. Habas took part in lynching an IDF soldier in 1998, and consequently served time in an Israeli prison. Shortly after being released in 2007 he began recruiting operatives for the PFLP's military cells.
Habas admitted during questioning that under Abu Hadir's command he purchased weapons for a cell he recruited, and that the members of his cell attempted to produce explosive devices. He also admitted that Abu Hadir has discussed with him the possibility of traveling to Iran for military training.
Habas' cell plotted to carry out a series of terrorist attacks, including abducting a soldier, shooting at Israeli neighborhoods and soldiers around Ramallah and Jerusalem, placing explosive devices in the Halamish settlement and in a hotel near Sheikh Jarrah, and murdering a man suspected of collaborating with Israel.
Elements in the defense establishment said that the cell has already taken measures to obtain explosives and a cellular phone that would be attached to the device. The cell's members planned to finance the mission by kidnapping a Palestinian land dealer and demanding ransom for his release.
Yet another detainee is Fares Barghouti, 33, a resident of the West Bank village of Beit Rima. Barghouti served time in an Israeli prison in 2001-2005 for his membership in a military cell, involvement in army training and planning terrorist attacks. He was freed as part of a gesture to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. He was arrested again a year after his release when he returned to serve in the PFLP's military.
Fares was recruited to Habas' cell in 2010. He admitted during questioning that he purchased guns, silencers and other weapons for the cell's use.
Two additional operatives that belonged to Habas' cell are Naal Tuhi, 31, and Sam Ransiti, 30, both residents of Ramallah. Ransiti was previously detained for his involvement in the Popular Front's military plot to hurl explosives at IDF vehicles. The two were ordered by Habas to recruit military cells, and were involved in planning the attacks.
Other operatives admitted during questioning that they were instructed to establish secret infrastructure, while others dealt with finding hiding places and faking identification cards.
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