IDF Arrests More Than 60 Members of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

Latest Developments

• More Than 60 Members of PFLP Arrested: Israel’s military and security forces announced the arrest of more than 60 members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) during a counterterrorism sweep of the West Bank on November 5. Among those arrested were Abla Sa’adat — a leader in the PFLP-affiliated Union of Women’s Committees and the wife of the PFLP’s secretary-general, Ahmad Sa’adat, who has been imprisoned in Israel since 2002 — and Tahrir Badran Jaber, a PFLP activist in Ramallah.

• Campaign to Thwart PFLP ‘On All Its Fronts’: Others arrested included key PFLP figures in various districts, terrorist operatives at the field level engaged in military recruiting, and university students active in PFLP cells. The IDF and Shin Bet also revealed that it had actively thwarted PFLP terrorists outside of the West Bank, killing senior PFLP terrorist Najal Abd al-Aal and other terrorists in Lebanon on September 30.

• PFLP Promotes Terrorist Attacks in Israel: The IDF said that the “PFLP is a murderous and extremist terrorist organization responsible for numerous significant attacks in recent years.” Designated as a terrorist organization by the United States in 1997, the PFLP was one of the original factions of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), espousing a Marxist-Leninist ideology and pioneering terrorist outrages, including airplane hijacking. In recent years, the PFLP has largely been overshadowed by Islamist terrorist groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

FDD Expert Response

“The PFLP is a critical component of the network of Palestinian terrorist groups operating in Gaza, the West Bank, and abroad. The PFLP routinely cooperates with Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other Palestinian terrorist groups to carry out attacks against Israeli targets. Notably, this cooperation extends beyond military efforts, encompassing political activism, underscoring the PFLP’s influence and capabilities.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal

“With its secular, Marxist ideology, the PFLP has long been eclipsed by Islamist terrorist groups like Hamas in the Palestinian arena. The organization now seems content with its role as an appendage to the Islamists, demonstrating that its goal of eliminating the State of Israel dominates all other considerations.” — Ben Cohen, Senior Analyst and Rapid Response Manager

“Supposed human rights defenders openly support PFLP front groups. These include Al-Haq, which is waging lawfare at the International Court of Justice and elsewhere, Samidoun, which is leading violent anti-Israel protests in various cities in Europe and the United States, and Defense for Children International-Palestine, which is waging campaigns to malign Israel on child rights issues. The U.S.-designated terrorist group continues to fight to eliminate Israel by any means available, whether it is weapons, money, or public opinion.” — David May, Senior Research Analyst

FDD Background and Analysis

“U.S., Canada Designate Samidoun a Sham Charity Front for the PFLP Terrorist Group,” by David May and Pavak Patel

“The Most Recent PFLP Hijacking: European Parliament,” by Rebecca Federman and David May

“The jihadi-leftist convergence,” by Clifford D. May