Allied Intelligence — 2026-05-30

Shin Bet Dismantles Jerusalem Terror Cell Directed by French PFLP Operative From Overseas

The Shin Bet and Israel Police announced Tuesday the November-December 2025 arrests of five East Jerusalem residents recruited into a PFLP cell by Salah Hamouri, a French-Palestinian lawyer deported to France after Israel revoked his residency in 2022 123. Hamouri allegedly met recruits at multiple European locations in 2024 and 2025, supplying encrypted phones to coordinate planned attacks in the Jerusalem area 123. Two suspects, brothers Yazid and Said Dadu, have been indicted on charges of active PFLP membership, conspiracy to commit a terrorist act, and prohibited property transactions for terrorist purposes 13.

Analysis
French authorities are unlikely to open a formal criminal investigation into Hamouri within 180 days of the Shin Bet announcement. Moderate confidence rests on France's consistent treatment of Hamouri as a political figure since his 2022 deportation and on the absence of any French prosecutorial mechanism currently targeting him. The disclosed pattern demonstrates that a diaspora-based handler can sustain operational cell activity inside Israel by using legitimate activist credentials to cover recruitment travel, encrypted communication, and attack planning. The Dadu indictments constitute a durable evidentiary record that allied services and prosecutors can draw on if French political conditions shift.

3 sources

Israel dismantles terror cell led by French PFLP operative - JNS
Shin Bet, police bust east Jerusalem terror cell headed by PFLP terrorist in France - The Jerusalem Post
Israel says French-Palestinian lawyer operated East Jerusalem terror network from overseas - The Times of Israel