Israel breaks up Turkish-linked network smuggling arms and funds to West Bank, uncovering what officials describe as one of the most significant counter-terrorism operations of 2025. The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and Israel Police jointly dismantled a network accused of transferring money and weapons from Turkey into the West Bank to support Hamas.
Network exposed: local recruitment and Turkish coordination
The investigation revealed that several Israeli citizens from Kafr Qasim and Rahat were recruited by Ahmed Zarzur, an Israeli national living in Turkey. Zarzur allegedly used family and community connections to form a covert smuggling route moving cash and arms into the Palestinian territories.
According to the Shin Bet, the network channelled funds through cryptocurrency transactions, later converted into cash by local exchangers. The money financed firearms purchases in southern Israel, particularly in the Negev region, before the weapons were moved to the West Bank.
Security impact and wider crackdown
Officials said the dismantled network aimed to supply Hamas-affiliated cells with arms and operational funds. The discovery, they noted, likely prevented several planned attacks on Israeli civilians and security forces.
The case fits into a broader Israeli crackdown on financial and logistical networks linked to Turkey. In a similar operation earlier this year, authorities intercepted over NIS 3.5 million transferred from Turkey to Hamas operatives via intermediaries in Israel — a growing sign of Ankara’s tolerance toward extremist financing networks.
Legal actions and diplomatic tension
Several suspects are expected to face indictments within days, charged with aiding a terrorist organisation and trafficking weapons. Israeli security officials continue to trace potential links between Zarzur’s group and other financing cells operating out of Istanbul and northern Cyprus.
This latest case underscores the fragile state of Israel–Turkey relations, already strained by repeated Israeli accusations that Ankara allows Hamas to maintain logistical and communications hubs on its territory.
Ongoing vigilance
Israeli authorities say they remain on alert for foreign-sponsored networks exploiting digital currencies and diaspora connections to destabilise the West Bank. The Shin Bet emphasised that the fight against such channels is part of a long-term strategy to safeguard national security and disrupt transnational terror funding.
With the arrests complete and indictments imminent, Israel’s security services are calling this a decisive step in cutting off Hamas’s regional lifelines — and a warning that any attempt to weaponise financial systems against the state will be met with swift action.
