Israel arrests HWC officials as Shin Bet foils alleged plots

Israeli authorities have arrested senior officials from the Health Work Committees (HWC), an organization designated by Israel as a terrorist group in 2020 due to alleged ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). This development coincides with reports from Channel 12 that the Shin Bet recently thwarted multiple alleged plots targeting Israel's political and security leadership and dismantled foreign-run social media operations aimed at influencing Israeli public opinion. One such operation was a Telegram channel, Bnei Eretz, allegedly operated by a "hostile foreign actor." Prof. Gerald M. Steinberg, founder of NGO Monitor, stated that the arrests highlight the HWC's "longstanding links to the PFLP," noting that several HWC officials have been convicted of terror-related offenses. Steinberg criticized continued European support for the HWC, urging donor states to "immediately halt any remaining funding to HWC."