In a cross-border intelligence operation, Israel’s Shin Bet security agency and national police uncovered a sophisticated financial network used to transfer millions of shekels from Hamas operatives in Turkey to terror elements in the West Bank. Six Israeli Arab citizens were arrested and indicted on Thursday by the State Prosecutor’s Cyber Unit for their role in the operation.
A Network Linking the Galilee, Turkey, and Jenin
Over the past month, six suspects—all Arab citizens of Israel—were taken into custody. The investigation revealed that Fadi Arabi, 33, from the town of Arraba in northern Israel, coordinated a financial pipeline between his brother Nissim Arabi in Turkey and Wajdi Saadi, a Hamas operative from Jenin currently residing in Turkey.
The three built an elaborate cash smuggling system through which they funneled funds—amounting to millions of shekels—into Samaria.
The money was physically transferred by local couriers from the northern Israeli town of Nof HaGalil, and later from Acre. Together, the suspects allegedly moved over 3 million shekels, fully aware that the funds originated from Hamas and were destined to support terrorist activity.
Indictments for Contact with Foreign Agents and Terror Finance
After a lengthy joint investigation by the Shin Bet and the Police’s Lahav 433’s cyber unit, the State Attorney’s Office filed serious charges against the suspects. They include offenses of contact with a foreign agent and handling terrorist property.
A senior security official described the case as a rare and complex terror finance scheme involving Israeli citizens acting as a “lifeline” for Hamas in Turkey. The official noted the operation’s success in disrupting a key funding channel for terror infrastructure in Judea and Samaria.
