The Israel Police and Shin Bet announced Thursday that six Arab Israeli suspects were arrested in recent weeks and charged with helping funnel Hamas funds from Turkey to terror cells in the West Bank.
According to the indictment, six Israeli citizens covertly transferred over NIS 3.5 million ($940,000) in 16 separate transactions between November 2024 and March 2025.
The operation was allegedly directed by Hamas operative Jadie Saadi, a former prisoner from Jenin who moved to Turkey in 2016 and began working with Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Iran’s Quds Force to finance terror activity in the West Bank.
Prosecutors filed charges at the Central District Court in Lod against Fadi Arabi of Arraba; Mohammad Hatzitz and Adham Dolani of Acre; Wilam and Sami Odeh Khana, a father and son from Nof HaGalil; and Suhil Bashir of Sakhnin.
All six are charged with multiple counts of conducting transactions with terror-linked funds. Four are also accused of contact with foreign agents from terrorist organizations.
Fadi Arabi, 33, is described by police as one of the ringleaders. He allegedly established a financial channel with his brother Nassim, a Hamas-affiliated terrorist based in Turkey, and worked closely with Saadi to smuggle large sums of cash into the West Bank under the guise of business activity. Wilam and Sami Khana were reportedly recruited to serve as couriers.
Following the arrests of West Bank operatives who had received the money, Arabi altered the network and brought in Hatzitz and Dolani to continue the transfers. Both men later admitted they knew the funds — totaling over NIS 3 million (approx. $800,000) — were intended to support terrorist operations against Israel.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
(Photo: Mustafa Kamaci/Turkish Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS)
When the link was compromised, Arabi enlisted Bashir to continue smuggling money into the West Bank.
The indictment details how the group used covert methods such as burner phones, compartmentalization, rotating couriers and secret drop points to avoid detection.
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In at least two incidents, hundreds of thousands of shekels in cash reportedly reached Hamas terrorist cells involved in plotting attacks. Prosecutors are seeking to keep all six suspects in custody through the end of legal proceedings, citing the severe threat they pose.
“The suspects carried out a prolonged, systematic and sophisticated operation, transferring millions of shekels to Hamas-linked entities — some of whom are active in terror cells planning attacks in Israel — during the war in Gaza,” a remand request read.
A security official called the case “exceptional,” describing it as the exposure of a major Hamas funding pipeline operated by Israeli Arabs on behalf of the terror group’s leadership in Turkey.
“This network served as a financial lifeline for military infrastructure in the West Bank,” the official said, adding that both police and the Shin Bet view any collaboration with terrorist organizations as a grave offense.