Spy in IDF uniform: Bedouin enlisted in the army - under the guidance of a terrorist organization from Gaza

July 7, 2022   

In a joint operation by the General Security Service, the police and the military police, it was revealed that an Israeli citizen from the Bedouin diaspora was recruited by the terrorist organization Kata'ab al-Mujahideen from the Gaza Strip, for the purpose of promoting terrorist activity and intelligence gathering in Israeli territory. On May 30, the Shin Bet arrested Shehadeh Abu al-Qian, a 25-year-old resident of the Hora diaspora in the Negev, for questioning. The suspect was recruited by a military infrastructure from the Gaza Strip of the Kata'ab al-Mujahideen organization, while carrying out various tasks for the infrastructure, including gathering intelligence, photographing sites in Israel and stealing weapons with the aim of transferring them to terrorist elements. Shehadeh was instructed by the infrastructure to enlist in the IDF, for the purpose of collecting internal information from within the army and for the purpose of promoting terrorist activity. He carried out most of the steps within the framework of his operation before his enlistment in the IDF, and was arrested a few days after his enlistment. The investigation revealed that the motive for his actions was based on his identification with the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip and his desire to take revenge for enforcement actions carried out by the state authorities against his family for illegal construction. Upon completion of his interrogation by the Shin Bet, an indictment was filed against Shehadeh by the Southern District Attorney's Office, attributing to him serious security offenses - active membership in a terrorist organization, aiding the enemy in war, providing information to the enemy with the intent to harm state security, operating with weapons for terrorist purposes, theft under aggravated circumstances, weapons offenses, and more. According to the indictment, in light of the demolition of the defendant's father's house in 2019, the defendant decided to act against the State of Israel and against its security. In 2019, the defendant stole an M4 rifle with a magazine and a laser pointer from IDF soldiers who were in the Yatir area and hid them in a sack underground, near his residential area. During 2021, the defendant contacted an operative in a terrorist organization resident in Gaza, expressed his desire to support the Gaza Strip's struggle against Israel and to enlist in a terrorist organization, and later, even enlisted in a terrorist organization. The defendant joined the "Kataab Moghaddin" organization in order to assist the enemy in its war against the State of Israel. Within this framework, the defendant provided information about military helicopters landing IDF soldiers and the soldiers' training in the defendant's residential area, as well as photos he took from a military base in the Shomriya area and from locations in Beersheba, including the city's train station. Several months before his arrest, and as part of the defendant's activities in the Kata'ab al-Mujahideen organization, he was instructed to enlist in the IDF and, as a soldier, to photograph military locations for the organization, such as IDF bases and checkpoints. On 22.5.22, the defendant enlisted in the IDF. During his enlistment process, the defendant provided Abu Suleiman with names, phone numbers, and photos of Bedouin soldiers serving in the IDF. After enlistment, the defendant sent a photo of himself wearing an IDF uniform. In response, the defendant was told that he would now be able to provide information about the IDF, in order to use it as part of a terrorist organization against the State of Israel. The defendant was arrested by security forces on 30.5.22, thus thwarting his activities.