
Israeli security forces arrested six terror suspects in Jerusalem over the last several weeks. The five men and one woman had been running a law firm that aided terrorists from Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Over the last three years, the suspects used their legal practice to funnel money and pass on secret messages between terrorists imprisoned in Israeli jails. Communication was not just limited to jails but also operatives across Israel and abroad. The lawyers took advantage of attorney-client privilege laws.
The five suspects were arrested in the Arab neighborhood of Issawiya, located in the northern section of Jerusalem. The practice was busted in a joint undercover operation conducted by Israeli police and the Shin Bet.
The heads of the Al Quds Law Office, Madhat Isawi and his sister Shirin Isawi, oversaw an extensive network of Palestinian attorneys. Two of the men, who are brothers and residents of Jerusalem, revealed under interrogation that the firm immediately began to funnel money to other attorneys of terrorists upon its inception.
Members of the firm would visit jailed terrorists charging a fee of 500-700 shekels ($140-$200) per visit per prisoner. During their visits, the suspects would transmit secret messages and other information between terrorists, including coordinating hunger strikes, planning terror attacks, and alternative funding for Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Shirin Isawi has been previously arrested on similar charges. Her case ended in a plea bargain in which she was stripped of her license to practice law by the Israel Bar Association.
The suspects are being charged with supporting terrorist activities, including membership in a terrorist organization, conspiring to commit a crime, and contact with foreign agents.