Israel: Iran Recruits Palestinian Militants via South Africa

On Wednesday, January 3, Israel announced that it had dismantled a ring of Palestinian militants suspected of being trained by Iranian intelligence outside of South Africa. The lawyer for the detained suspects has denied these allegations. The Israeli Security Agency - Shin Bet - stated that three Palestinians from the West Bank are facing charges of espionage and terrorism after confessing to following missions assigned by Iran. The suspects also claimed that preparing for suicide attacks and finding operatives using mobile phones with Israeli SIM cards were tasks assigned to them. Shin Bet's statement mentioned that the suspects had a contact who is a Palestinian living in South Africa, recruited and trained by Iranian intelligence. The statement did not indicate whether the South African government was aware of the alleged activities related to Iran or whether it had information on the location of this Palestinian in South Africa. In South Africa, there is a strong sense of support for Palestinians, yet the government maintains contact and cooperation with Israel. Shin Bet's recent statement raises the serious allegation that South Africa may have become a center for Iranian espionage activities. The statement noted: 'During Shin Bet's investigations, it was found that the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence was using South Africa as a location to find, recruit, train, and deploy anti-Israeli agents in the West Bank.' Shin Bet added that 'several Iranian intelligence operatives have traveled to South Africa for this mission.' The South African Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Iranian embassy in South Africa have not responded to this news. In this context, three Palestinians were arrested in November, and the date of their court session has not yet been announced. Montazer Abu Ahmad, the lawyer for the three suspects, has denied the charges. The lawyer stated: 'All three deny the allegations related to activities in South Africa. Two of my clients have relatives in South Africa and have been in contact regarding business or trade matters. The last contact they had was in July 2016.' Montazer Abu Ahmad added: 'Now we are in 2018, and these three Palestinians have done nothing, which makes the charges against them meaningless.' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters on Wednesday that this case shows 'Iran operates in a terrorist and conspiratorial manner... and this is not limited to aiding terrorist groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and Islamic Jihad, which focus on terrorist activities against the Israeli people and civilians.' Adi Carmi, a former senior Shin Bet employee, stated in an interview with Israel Radio that there has been no previous record of activities originating from South Africa. He added: 'It seems that the Iranians have found fertile ground in South Africa. I do not recall that South Africa has been used by the Iranians to recruit and train terrorists for the purpose of carrying out attacks before.'