3 north Israel residents charged with espionage, kidnapping plot

After an indictment has been filed, it was cleared for publication Thursday that 58-year-old Majdal Shams resident Majed Sha'ar, his son Fada (27) and 62-year-old Mahmoud Masarwa of Baqa el Gharbiya have been charged with relaying classified information to the enemy with the intent of jeopardizing state security, contacting a foreign agent, conspiracy to commit a crime, severe espionage and illegal entrance into a military facility.

Majdal Shams is a Druze village in the Golan.

The indictment, filed by the State Prosecution's northern branch with the Nazareth District Court, claimed that Majed and Fada Sha'ar had been in contact with former Majdal Shams resident Madhat Salah, who moved to Syria, held a number of positions within the administration in Damascus and was in contact with local intelligence sources.  

According to the indictment, Masarwa disclosed information on a Syrian pilot who had defected to Israel and currently resides in Baqa el Gharbiya. Majed Sha'ar and Masarwa allegedly met Salah in Jordan, where they drew up the plan to kidnap the pilot, who they nicknamed "the bride", in exchange for a financial reward. 

Meetings in Jordan, Cairo. Majed Sha'ar in court (Photo: Ido Erez)

The two returned to Israel and tried to locate the pilot. During another meeting with Salah and a Syrian agent, this time in Cairo, Sha'ar and Masarwa were asked about military bases in Israel. Salah gave Masarwa $1,000 and promised to give him more money.

The prosecution claims this activity, including efforts to track down the Syrian pilot, began in 2007 and continued through 2009.

In 2009, according to the indictment, Fada, who studied music in Damascus from 2002 to 2008, began relaying information regarding "the bride". Majed Sha'ar even obtained a sedative and syringes he planned to use in the kidnapping.

Riots in Majdal Shams (Photo: AFP) 

The second indictment provides details on how Majed and Masarwa filmed IDF bases located just a few kilometers from Baqa el Gharbiya. They planned to transfer the tapes to Syria.

A third indictment claims the defendants passed on to their Syrian contact a sketch "marking the movement of IDF forces towards Syria in the event of a war.

According to the indictment, the drawing was meant to "mark the positioning of IDF tanks and planes in the Golan Heights."

The indictment further claimed that towards the end of 2009 or the beginning of 2010, while Majed was in Haifa, he spotted a submarine making its way north. He relayed the information to Fada and warned of a possible Israeli attack on Syria.  

Fada's, Majed and Muna, were detained last week for their alleged involvement in the affair, as was Masarwa.

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