Shin Bet Uncovers Turkish Network That Sent Weapons and Money from Israel to Judea and Samaria

Israeli security forces revealed today that they uncovered a network of Israeli citizens from the Arab towns of Kfar Qassem and Rahat who secretly transferred weapons and large sums of money into Judea and Samaria. According to the Shin Bet, the entire operation was directed from Turkey by a man named Ahmad Zarzur, an Israeli citizen originally from Kafr Qassem working on behalf of Hamas.

The arrests were made in recent weeks during joint operations by the Shin Bet and the Israel Police. Several Israelis were detained on suspicion of moving “weapons and hundreds of thousands of shekels into Judea and Samaria, with concern they would ultimately reach terrorists seeking to carry out attacks.”

According to the statement, “Zarzur exploited his family and social connections in Kafr Qassem to build a network for transferring weapons and money to Judea and Samaria,” the agency said. A key part of the operation involved moving money from Turkey to Israel using cryptocurrency. Once the funds entered Israel, local money-changers converted the digital currency into cash. That cash was then used to buy weapons from arms dealers in the Negev, and the weapons were then passed into Judea and Samaria.

Security officials described the case as “a serious affair that exposes how elements in Turkey — including Arab Israelis and individuals with Israeli residency through family-unification — exploit their ties inside Israel and their access to Judea and Samaria to transfer funds and weapons,” the statement said.

The agency stressed that it will continue to act aggressively: “Shin Bet views any involvement of Israeli citizens in activity that endangers state security with great severity… and will work to ensure harsh legal consequences for all involved.”