Hezbollah, Iranian Quds Force recruit east Jerusalem woman
Yasmin Jabar, resident of Jerusalem's Old City, works at the National Library. The Shin Bet said that she was recruited by Iran's Quds Force.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFYasmin Jabar, arrested by the Shin Bet on accusations of being recruited by the Iranian Quds Force and Hezbollah, September 17, 2020(photo credit: Courtesy Shin Bet)
Yasmin Jabar, a resident of Jerusalem’s Old City, was detained for questioning in August on suspicion of having been recruited by Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force.She is employed by the National Library at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), Israel Police and other branches of the security apparatus uncovered how Hezbollah recruited Jabar.Hezbollah organizes conventions for young Palestinians in Lebanon, Turkey and other countries as a means to cultivate recruits from Israel and the West Bank, the security organizations said. Hezbollah seeks to form cells to help with intelligence collection and terrorist attacks, they said.Jabar was identified by Hezbollah operatives when she attended a conference in 2015. She was given a code name to disguise her identity.During a trip to Lebanon in 2016, operatives from the joint Hezbollah and Quds Force terrorism unit introduced Jabar to a senior operative who is known to have been involved in recruitment in Israel for terrorist activities.After being recruited, Jabar maintained contact with a handler through coded messages on social-media platforms and met with operatives in Turkey.At those meetings, Jabar was instructed to recruit more operatives who would form a terrorist cell under her leadership. She was told to concentrate on recruiting women because they have more freedom of movement.Some acquaintances of Jabar from Jerusalem and Ramallah were also detained, including a Turkish resident of Ramallah who was found to be Jabar’s handler in the terrorism unit.Charges against Jabar and her handler are expected to be filed in the coming days.
The investigation exposed how the terrorism unit operates, including its use of coded messages on social-media platforms, hosting conferences around the world for recruitment purposes and the use of assumed names by operatives to avoid being associated with Hezbollah while recruiting.The Shin Bet “will continue to act determinedly to prevent terrorism and spying from Iran and Hezbollah,” one of the security agency’s senior officers said.
