Iranian Intelligence and the Palestinians

On Sunday, Israel identified one of its citizens, Ayman Haj Yahya, who was indicted on charges of spying on behalf of Iran.  Yahya was a well-known Palestinian activist—at one point he was a prominent member of Balad, an Arab nationalist party, which won three seats in the new Israeli Knesset.  While initial headlines suggested surprise at the arrest of an Israeli for spying for Iran, Iranian intelligence has for years attempted to infiltrate the Israel by using the Palestinian community.

Yahya was allegedly recruited via Facebook by a leading operative of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) group in Lebanon named Khaled Yamani.  Yamani then connected Yahya with Iranian intelligence, where he received funds, training, and encryption technology.  Tehran wanted Yahya to help provide information on security and strategic sites in Israel, and to provide insight into how it could exploit fissures within Israeli society.

The unusual aspect of this case concerns Yamani’s rank and existing profile—news accounts over the years portray him as a senior official for PFLP.  In one report, he was identified as a member of PFLP in Lebanon’s department on refugees and the right of return. 

But apart from that aspect of the case, this new indictment fits within an emerging pattern of Iranian intelligence’s playbook: recruiters who are based in countries outside Iran, where Iranian or Palestinian infiltration is strong, sometimes using Facebook as a means to enlist support.  Last summer, Israel announced it had busted an Iranian spying network, operating from Syria, who used fake Facebook profiles to lure assets.  In June 2019, Shin Bet arrested a Jordanian national, Thaer Shafut, who worked on behalf of Iranian intelligence to establish a spy ring and terror cell in the West Bank.  He was guided by Iranian operatives based in Syria and Lebanon.  In 2018, Israeli authorities exposed an Iranian intelligence operation which used a Palestinian based in South Africa, who recruited Palestinians in the West Bank to participate in preparations for suicide bombings and in provision of Israeli mobile SIM cards.

It’s not just Iranian intelligence which has used this modus operandi—its broader Axis of Resistance has done so as well, specifically Hezbollah.  Members of the Party of God’s Unit 133 working from Lebanon and Gaza—which specializes in foreign operations and recruitment of Palestinians to mount terror attacks in Israel—used a Facebook page entitled ‘Palestine the Free’ to mobilize support for operations against the Israel Defense Forces.

Iranian operatives have even attempted to recruit Jewish Israelis.  The most prominent was the recent case of Gonen Segev, Israel’s former Energy and Infrastructure Minister, who reportedly provided Iran with information on Israel’s energy market and security sites.  While different from the other cases, given those involving Palestinians, Segev’s situation was similar in two respects: he established ties with Iran while living in Nigeria—another example of Iranians using foreign countries as a base for enlistment.  Also, despite his previous service in the cabinet, Segev was on now on the sidelines of Israeli politics—having even been arrested on drug smuggling charges.  This marginalization can also be seen in Ayman Haj Yahya, who was at one point a leading member of Balad, and left the party and later supported a boycott in elections.  Thus, this is evidence Iranian intelligence is looking for people with these backgrounds of disaffection and grievance.

These developments demonstrate that Iran continues to use Palestinian operatives to recruit, spy, and plan terror attacks against Israeli interests.  In recent days, there has been a flurry of phone calls between leading Iranian officials and their Palestinian partners, specifically Hamas’ Ismail Haniyeh and Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Ziad al-Nakhalah.  As the new unity government in Israel takes shape, and pursues annexation in the West Bank, there is a real risk of Iranian intelligence seeking to establish an even greater infrastructure, using the aforementioned methods.  As Foreign Policy Advisor to the Supreme Leader Ali Akbar Velayati warned in January, “The Islamic Republic will certainly not remain silent” about the Trump Middle East peace plan.

Jason M. Brodsky is the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI).