IDF raids offices of terror-linked Palestinian NGO

Israeli security forces on Monday raided the Judea and Samaria offices of the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, the Israel Defense Forces said on Tuesday.

“During operational activity in Ramallah and Hebron, IDF troops seized equipment and sealed the offices of the Palestinian organization UAWC, which is affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist organization,” according to the statement.

During the raid, soldiers confiscated inciting materials, arrested eight wanted individuals and detained 14 additional suspects for questioning. Equipment and funds worth roughly 700,000 shekels ($215,000) were also seized, the military said.

The operation concluded with soldiers carrying out a “full sealing of the main doors” of the UAWC offices in Judea and Samaria, the IDF said.

UAWC “presents itself as assisting agriculture, but in practice serves as an organizational arm of the PFLP terror group and works to promote incitement to terrorism, recruitment and the transfer of funds,” it added.

On Oct. 22, 2021, then-Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz designated six Palestinian NGOs, including UAWC, as terrorist groups linked to the PFLP. The PFLP is recognized as a terror organization by Israel, the European Union, the United States and most other Western nations.

The Defense Ministry said at the time that the NGOs were “controlled by the PFLP, employ PFLP operatives in management and field positions and operate to conceal their affiliation to the terrorist organization.”