Israel exposes east Jerusalem terror cell run by overseas terrorist freed in prisoner swap

Hamouri was sentenced to seven years in prison for involvement in a 2005 PFLP-linked plot to assassinate former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israeli police and the Shin Bet security agency said Tuesday they uncovered an eastern Jerusalem terror cell allegedly directed from abroad by Salah Hamouri, a French-Palestinian lawyer and convicted terrorist previously released in a hostage-prisoner exchange with Hamas.

According to security officials, the network operated under Hamouri’s direction after he relocated to France following the revocation of his Jerusalem residency in 2022 over ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror group.

Authorities said Hamouri maintained contact with terrorist operatives overseas and used his personal and familial ties to Israel to recruit local operatives and coordinate attacks inside the country. He provided terrorists in Europe with mobile phones intended to facilitate the planning and execution of attacks in Israel, they said.

“Hamouri exploits his origins and ties to Israeli territory to recruit local terror operatives, while simultaneously conducting open activity related to the Palestinian issue,” the Shin Bet and police said in a joint statement.

“The terror activity he advances is conducted in a covert manner in parallel, under the guise of legitimate activism,” the statement added.

Hamouri was sentenced to seven years in prison for involvement in a 2005 PFLP-linked plot to assassinate former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.

He was later released before completing his sentence as part of a 2011 hostage-prisoner swap agreement with Hamas.

Israeli authorities said the suspects have already been charged with active membership in a terrorist organization, conspiracy to commit a crime, and conspiracy to commit a terrorist act.

The Shin Bet and police described the investigation as part of ongoing efforts to dismantle networks attempting to organize attacks from abroad through local operatives in Jerusalem and other parts of Israel.