Report: Russia recruiting Palestinian Arabs to fight in Ukraine

Moscow reportedly offering cash to Palestinian Arabs aligned with the PLO’s Fatah movement in Lebanon to fight against Ukraine.

By World Israel News Staff

Russia is attempting to enlist the help of Palestinian Arabs in Lebanon for the ongoing war in Ukraine, The Media Line reported on Tuesday.

The report cited a security official in the Lebanese government who said that Russian entities are offering $350 to each Palestinian Arab willing to join Russia’s ongoing military campaign against Kyiv.

The recruitment campaign is reportedly orchestrated by activists linked with the Palestinian Authority’s diplomatic mission in Lebanon.

The PA mission in Lebanon declined to respond to the report.

Palestinian Arabs living in Lebanon are particularly suited for service as mercenaries, the report said, since all those who were born in any of the 12 designated Palestinian refugee camps after 1969 are not registered with Lebanese authorities and therefore cannot easily be tracked.

A number of Palestinian Arabs from Lebanon have already been recruited and deployed to the frontlines of the war in Ukraine, with most of the soldiers coming from the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp outside of Sidon.

The recruits, according to the report, are mostly affiliated with the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Fatah movement, which is the ruling faction of the Palestinian Authority.

Other known terrorist groups are also represented in the ranks of the mercenaries serving on Russia’s behalf, including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

The pro-Iranian Hezbollah terrorist organization has helped to facilitate Russian recruitment efforts, the Lebanese official said, adding that Hezbollah is actively searching for drone operators and mercenaries with guerrilla warfare experience to assist the Russian military in Ukraine.

While the precise number of Palestinian Arabs currently serving in Ukraine is unknown, the report estimated that roughly 300 have already been deployed, with an additional 100 mercenaries being organized in Ain al-Hilweh.

Palestinian Arabs living in Syria have also been recruited to fight on Russia’s behalf, said Muhammad Sarmini, director of the London-based Abaad Center for Strategic Studies.

An entire special forces division of the Syrian military has been deployed to Ukraine, Sarmini said, adding that the Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary organization, has recruited soldiers from northern Syria, operating out of a Russian-controlled enclave near Latakia.