Assad Al-Amali (left) and Muhammad Abu Salah. Photo: Shin Bet.

JNS.org – The Shin Bet announced on Tuesday that it had thwarted an Iran- and Hezbollah-backed terrorist plot to launch high-profile attacks in Judea and Samaria by means of a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine cell.

The Syrian military reportedly also was involved in training the PFLP cell, which allegedly operated under the guise of a civilian welfare organization known as “Al-Shabab Al-Alumi Al-Arabi.”

The cell first appeared on the Shin Bet’s radar during the interrogation of 23-year-old PFLP member Yazan Abu Salah, who was arrested in April. He was revealed to be a member of a larger cell involving two attack units, one in Ramallah and one in Samaria. He was arrested before departing for Lebanon to undergo military training.

As part of the Shin Bet crackdown, Yazan’s cousin, Muhammad Abu Salah, also was arrested, along with eight other radicals involved in the plot.

The cell was plotting major attacks on Israeli targets and communities, and the abduction of an Israel Defense Forces soldier to use as a bargaining chip for the release of Palestinian terrorists in Israeli prisons.

The terrorist operation was headed by Assad Al-Amali, a resident of Lebanon who worked to connect the cell with Iran and Hezbollah.