( May 27, 2026 / JNS ) Israeli security forces recently dismantled an eastern Jerusalem terrorist cell under the command of a French-Palestinian operative who was deported to Paris in 2022, authorities said on Tuesday.

The Israel Police and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) said they had detained five Jerusalem residents on suspicion that they had been recruited by senior Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) operative Salah Hamouri.

Hamouri has served prison time in Israel for his ties to the PFLP, which the United States and European Union have designated a terrorist organization. He plead guilty in 2008 to planning the assassination of former Israeli chief rabbi Ovadia Yosef, and was released three years later in the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap.