The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), Israel Police, and the Israel Defense Forces announced today (Thursday) that several individuals involved in managing the Union of Health Work Committees have been arrested in recent weeks as part of a joint operation carried out by the Shin Bet, the Judea and Samaria Border Police, and IDF troops.
According to the security agencies, the organization was designated a terrorist organization in Israel in 2021 by the Minister of Defense and declared an unlawful association in Judea and Samaria by the Commander of the Central Command, after it was found to constitute a significant component of the financial infrastructure of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which Israel designates as a terrorist organization.
Security officials said that those arrested include senior officials within the institution, some of whom are also identified as members of the PFLP. They were taken into custody for a joint investigation by the Shin Bet and the Border Police Investigations Division after suspicions arose that the organization had resumed its activities.
According to the Shin Bet, the investigation found that the institution had renewed its operations from its headquarters in Ramallah and continued employing operatives, including members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
The security establishment also noted that PFLP operatives carried out the 2019 bombing attack at the Ein Bubin spring, in which 17-year-old Rina Shnerb was murdered.