The Shin Bet Security Agency has disclosed that in recent months Iran has made multiple attempts on social media to enlist Israelis and Palestinians into committing terror attacks. The campaign is said to have been run by a Syrian national called “Abu Jihad,” which is Arabic for “Father of the Muslim Holy War,” launched from the neighboring Arab Republic operated under Tehran’s direction. According to the Shin Bet, civilians in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip were contacted through fake Facebook profiles and other online messaging applications, in efforts to convince them to gather sensitive information about IDF military bases, security installations, public figures, police stations, hospitals and other prospective sites for Iranian-initiated attacks. Israeli authorities say the Ayatollah Regime’s online enlistment campaign was largely a failure, and that it had been monitored by intelligence operatives the entire duration. In addition, the vast majority of Israelis who had been approached refused to comply on the well-based suspicion they had been contacted by state-enemies. Previous attempts to cultivate home-grown proxies has been tried by the Islamist Hamas rulers of Gaza as well as the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror groups, both of which are supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Shin Bet announced that it “will continue [its] steadfast efforts to foil any attempts by Iran and the terror organizations operating on its behalf against the security of Israel,” but that it is important for anyone approached online by unknown individuals possibly connected to a terror organization “must immediately cease all communication and contact the police.”
