Ripped the note. Said
Photo: Avishag Shaar-Yashuv
Omar Said charged with contacting foreign agent
According to indictment, Israeli-Arab who was arrested along with suspected spy Ammer Makhoul gave Hezbollah operative names of two potential spies. Wife: Political persecution
Arab-Israeli Omar Said (50) of Kfar Kana, an activist for the Balad Arab political party, was charged Thursday with maintaining contact with an enemy agent and transferring information that could be used by the enemy.
According to the indictment, filed by the Haifa District Prosecution, while on vacation in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt in 2008 Said was approached by a man claiming to be Lebanese. The two spoke for an hour, after which the man asked Said to meet him at a local coffee shop the following day.
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The indictment said the man who approached Said was a Hezbollah operative sent by Hassan Jaja to recruit the Arab-Israeli to the Shiite group.
Jaja, Lebanese businessman who lives in Jordan, was reportedly in close contact with the defendant.
During the meeting at the coffee shop, Said and the Hezbollah operative discussed the relations between Jews and Arabs in Israel, the way Israeli Arabs view Hezbollah and what they think of the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
During the meeting the Hezbollah operative said the group was fighting for the Palestinian people and Israel's Arabs. The operative asked Said to photograph Israeli military, economic and industrial facilities as well as gather information on military sites in Israel.
Said told the operative that he was not the man for the job because of his age and the fact that he is a father of five.
Said also told the operative he was concerned that he may get caught. The operative said he had nothing to worry about and showed him the specially-designed computer encryption system that would allow him to send the photos without being detected. However, Said told the operative he feared the disc with the encryption system on it would be discovered during a search of his belongings at the Israeli border.
At this point, according to the indictment, the operative asked Said to transfer names and details of additional men and women in Israel who he believed could also serve as Hizbullah agents. Said gave the operative the names of two people he claimed had nationalistic attitudes. The operative then handed Said a note and asked Said to send additional names of potential spies to the email address written on it.
Said eventually tore up the note for fear of being caught with it. He never contacted the operative again.
Said's wife told Ynet following the hearing, "It is all a lie, and it will be proven that this is political persecution."
The court extended Said's remand.
Arab-Israeli political activist Ameer Makhoul, the other suspect in the case who was arrested along with Said, was charged with serious espionage, assisting an enemy at a time of war and maintaining contact with an enemy agent.
