Prosecutors filed charges Monday against a man for allegedly gathering intelligence on former defense minister Yoav Gallant on behalf of an Iranian agent.
The defendant, Fares Abu al-Hija, 32, was arrested in late January after taking photos of streets near Gallant’s home in Amikam at the behest of his handler, according to the indictment.
A joint statement from the police and the Shin Bet security service said the defendant is from the Galilee village of Kaukab Abu al-Hija, about an hour’s drive north of Gallant’s residence.
He first came into contact with the Iranian agent on the Telegram messaging app while searching for work in August last year, according to the indictment.
Between October and January, al-Hija carried out requests made by the person, who called himself "Martin," even though he suspected he was a foreign agent, the statement said.
According to prosecutors, among the tasks al-Hija completed were to purchase and then hide cellphones and chargers at various locations around Haifa, activate the devices, install communication apps on them, record where they were stashed, and then pass on the information to his handler. He was also asked to take an envelope containing the password to a cryptocurrency account to a location in Zichron Yaakov, and to photograph a cafe in Tel Aviv.
Al-Hija was paid in cryptocurrency to carry out the intelligence-gathering missions. In return for taking photos and videos of the cafe, he earned $1,000 in cryptocurrency, according to the indictment.
In January, al-Hija was asked to photograph Gallant’s home. He was arrested at the location shortly after having sent the photos to his handler.
He was indicted at the Haifa District Court on the charge of contact with a foreign agent. Prosecutors requested that he be kept in jug until the end of legal proceedings against him.
Gallant was the defense minister from 2022 until 2024, when he was fired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over political differences. In the past, he served as head of the Israel Defense Forces Southern Command.
In their statement, police and the Shin Bet noted that Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneouslytaking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet
militiasto extend the regime's influence. The word
Iranis a cognate form of
Aryan.The abbreviation
IRGCis the same idea as
Stürmabteilung (or SA).The term
Supreme Guideis a the modern version form of either
Duceor
Führeror maybe both. They hate
is increasing its efforts to engage Israelis as spies within the country.