Israeli authorities said Sunday they arrested an 18-year-old man suspected of gathering intelligence for Iranian operatives near the hospital where former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had been hospitalized.
The suspect, Moshe Attias, a resident of Yavne in central Israel, was taken into custody last month in a joint operation by the Shin Bet internal security agency and the police’s Lahav 433 special investigations unit.
Authorities said Attias is suspected of conducting surveillance on the cardiology department of a central Israeli hospital during Bennett’s stay, photographing a floor and a room guarded by security personnel protecting the former prime minister.
According to a joint statement from the Shin Bet and police, Attias had been in contact with Iranian terror operatives and carried out multiple tasks for them, fully aware that the assignments could endanger Israel’s security. Investigators believe he acted in exchange for money. His detention was extended by five days.
Bennett, who served as prime minister from 2021 to 2022, said in response that he trusts the Shin Bet, the Israel Defense Forces and all Israeli security bodies. He vowed to continue his public engagements throughout the country.
“Iranian attempts to assassinate leaders around the world have failed and will fail here as well,” Bennett’s office said in a statement. “They will not deter him from working to protect Israel’s security. Bennett believes Israel must move from passivity to action—Tehran, not Tel Aviv, should be on the defensive.”
Security officials said the case is part of a broader trend of attempts by Iranian intelligence and terror networks to recruit Israeli citizens to carry out missions targeting the country’s security.
Shin Bet’s personal security unit operates a wide range of tools to monitor potential threats against protected individuals, including Bennett, the agency said. Monitoring is conducted on multiple levels and is designed to identify threats and suspicious activity in advance.
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Authorities warned the public against maintaining contact with foreign agents or carrying out tasks on their behalf, saying such acts are illegal and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
During the ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza, several espionage cases linked to Iran have emerged. About two and a half months ago, prosecutors indicted Doron Buchovza, 29, an engineer from Beersheba employed at Haifa Chemicals South. He allegedly initiated contact with Iranian agents and offered to sell them information, claiming access to Israel’s nuclear research center in Dimona. He was charged with contact with a foreign agent and providing information to the enemy.
In an earlier case, a prosecutor’s statement was filed against two 21-year-old army reservists from the Haifa suburbs, Yury Elyasfov and Georgy Andreev, accusing them of contact with a foreign agent, passing classified information and aiding the enemy during wartime.