Israeli authorities have taken senior members of the Health Work Committees, known as HWC, into custody. Israel classified the organization as a terrorist group in 2020, citing its alleged connections to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, or PFLP.
The detentions coincide with a report from Channel 12 on Thursday indicating that the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, recently foiled several alleged plots aimed at the country’s political and security leadership. The broadcaster also reported that the agency dismantled a number of social media operations believed to have been run by foreign actors seeking to sway Israeli public opinion.
One of the networks identified in the operation was a Telegram channel called Bnei Eretz, which reportedly posed as an Israeli platform while actually being controlled by what Channel 12 called a “hostile foreign actor.” Israeli security officials, according to the report, anticipate these types of campaigns will grow more frequent as the country approaches its next legislative elections, with outside actors looking to exploit existing political divisions and social tensions.
The arrest of HWC officials drew a sharp response from NGO Monitor founder and president Prof. Gerald M. Steinberg, who said the detentions underscore what he characterized as the group’s deep-rooted ties to the PFLP.
Steinberg pointed out that despite Israel’s 2020 terrorist designation, HWC has continued to operate in the West Bank. He noted that multiple senior staff members — including the organization’s former general director, a former fundraiser, and at least three individuals who held financial roles — have been convicted on terror-related charges.
Steinberg also took aim at European governments that have continued providing financial support to HWC, specifically naming Belgium as a donor country even after Israel’s designation of the group.
“This is yet another example of how terror groups like the PFLP repeatedly exploit the NGO facade,” Steinberg said. “We call on donor states to immediately halt any remaining funding to HWC based on its leaders’ ongoing ties with the PFLP.”
Channel 12 did not reveal the identity of the foreign actor allegedly behind the influence campaigns, nor did it provide further details about the alleged terror plots or the specifics of the HWC arrests.
