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The suspect
Photo: Avishag Shaar-Yeshuv
Hezbollah flags in Lebanon
Photo: Reuters

IDF officer suspected of transferring information to Hezbollah

Master sergeant from north arrested on suspicion of providing Lebanese drug smugglers affiliated with terror group with information on sensitive points on border

Another military man suspected of turning his back on the State and aiding the enemy to the north. An Israel Defense Forces officer ranking master sergeant was arrested on suspicion he had transferred information to Lebanese elements affiliated with Hezbollah, it was cleared for publication on Wednesday. Five residents of the Western Galilee were arrested along with the suspect.

 

The suspect, a resident of northern Israel, was arrested in a joint police and Investigating Military Police operation, and his remand has been extended several times by the Northern Command's Military Court in Haifa.

 

The man is suspected of assisting civilians involved in drug smuggling across the Israel-Lebanon border. He was also in contact with Lebanese elements, and gave them information on the alignment of troops on the border, sensitive spots along the border, and areas where they could smuggle drugs without being detected. He also gave the smugglers information on areas where technological equipment was inactive.


The suspect at Haifa Military Court (Photo: Avishag Shaar-Yeshuv)

 

According to a high-ranking Investigating Military Police officer, the suspect was well aware of the fact that the information he was transferring was sensitive and classified, and that it was reaching enemy sources.

 

The officer added that the Military Advocate General plans to charge the non-commissioned officer with serious offenses, including treason and contact with a foreign agent. "He was surprised by the arrest, but during his interrogation he cooperated with the detectives," the official said.

 

"The nature of the information transferred cannot be detailed at this point in time, but we are familiar with past cases of criminal elements joining forces with military officers and turning their criminal activity into security activity. The information that was transferred via various channels may certainly serve Hezbollah against the IDF."

 

According to the allegations, the master sergeant received thousands of dollars in exchange for the information he gave. In his interrogation, the suspect admitted that his motives were financial.

 

Similar offenses in the past

Five other suspects were arrested in the affair this month: Brothers Salah and Osama Waked from Jadeidi-Makr, and cousins Jalal and Shadi Gazzawi from the village of Rameh, and Rameh resident Amir Abu Yamen. Police are still searching for two other suspects, Sami Farhoud of Rameh and Muhammad Taoun of I'billin.

 

Ynet has learned that members of the Gazzawi family have served prolonged sentences for similar offenses in the past. Among other offenses, Shadi Gazzawi was part of a drug smuggling cell from Lebanon, headed by Saad Kamhoz, who was caught in 2002.

 

According to reports from 2002, Arab and Druze residents of northern Israel had been granted exclusive "rights" from Hezbollah to distribute drugs in exchange for military information. At the time, the affiar received exposure, partly because a Jewish woman from Kiryat Shmona was also involved in the case.

 

Gazzawi was sentenced to two years in prison over his part in the affair, and was released from prison after completing his term just a few months ago.

 

Galilee District Police Commander Deputy Inspector General Menachem Hever said, "This affair is another step in the uncompromising war in the filed of drugs leaving its mark. A shortage in the filed of drugs can be felt in Israel, but there is still a long way to go in the war against drug dealers."

 

On Wednesday, the prosecution notified the court that it plans to file an indictment against the five suspects in the coming days, charging them with conspiring to smuggle drugs and attempted drug smuggling.

 

Attorney Basil Falah, who represents the Gazzawi cousins and Abu Yamen, told Ynet the suspects deny all allegations against them. "They claim the military man is incriminating them in order to save his own skin from the case he is entangled in, after already admitting to committing the most serious offenses."

 

Attorney Amir Salman, representing the master sergeant, told Ynet, "My client is suspected of involvement in certain incidents, but he has not admitted to anything, certainly not to transferring information to the enemy."

 

The attorney said the career soldier received commendation from his unit and was up for a promotion. "This is why I believe things have been blown out of proportion," the lawyer said.

 

Ahiya Raved contributed to this report

 


פרסום ראשון: 06.30.10, 14:38
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