A Belgian national was recently arrested on suspicion of aiding Palestinian and Shiite terrorist groups, the Shin Bet security agency revealed Wednesday.
Mustafa Haled Awad, an operative of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was arrested on July 19, when he attempted to enter Israel through the Allenby border crossing from Jordan.
Awad, 36, was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon and later moved to Belgium and received citizenship. According to the Shin Bet, Awad joined the PFLP in 2010 and served the organization from Europe, maintaining contacts with operatives in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the West Bank.
He is believed to have facilitated the transfer of funds from the PFLP in Lebanon and Syria to the group's European operatives.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine has carried out a number of terrorist attacks against Israel and Israeli citizens since it was formed in 1967, including the assassination of Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi in 2001.
According to the security agency, Awad also trained with members of Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2015.
The Central District Attorney's Office is expected to indict Awad on a series of security offenses in the coming days.
The Shin Bet noted that the investigation further indicated a trend of Palestinian terrorist organizations trying to align themselves with the Shiite axis in general and the Iran-backed Hezbollah in particular.
The Iranian–backed Hezbollah has been allocated resources to the smaller Palestinian terrorist group and allows them to use its training facilities.
"The investigation proves the threat posed by terror groups that bring in to their ranks people with foreign passports, which allows them to enter the State of Israel," the agency said in a statement. "The Shin Bet will continue to determinedly foil the threats that terrorist groups operating abroad pose to the State of Israel."
