A resident of southern Israel was arrested upon landing at Ben-Gurion Airport on suspicion of spying for Iran over the past year and a half. He is the sixth known suspect apprehended in the last two days.
The police said in a statement Thursday that "the Southern District Fraud Unit arrested an Israeli citizen from Beersheba, 25, yesterday at Ben Gurion Airport on suspicion of security activity involving contact with an Iranian foreign agent. The arrest was carried out on the advice of the Shin Bet intelligence service, and in a hearing held today at the Beersheba Magistrate's Court, his detention was extended until July 7."
Earlier today, an indictment was filed against two residents of Tiberias, Yoni Segal, 18, and Nehorai Mizrahi, 20, who are accused of collaborating with Iranian agents. The charges against them include contact with a foreign agent, providing information to the enemy, and obstruction of justice.
According to the indictment, in mid-May, the suspects made contact with Iranian operatives via the Telegram app. The Iranians initially posed as left-wing Kaplan-style protestors and asked them to carry out relatively simple tasks, such as writing "Bibi is a dictator" on a placard nd burning it, in exchange for cryptocurrency payments.
After a few assignments, the Iranians instructed Segal and Mizrahi to purchase special acquire burner phones. conceal their identities, and undertake more advanced espionage missions. These included filming and investigating shopping malls in Haifa Tel Aviv, and Netanya, as well as Ichilov Hospital. The suspects reportedly provided detailed information about security arrangements, camera locations, number of guards, and entry points.
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Simultaneously, the Beersheba District Court filed an indictment against Mark Morgan Pinsky, 33, a resident of Moshav Hamra in the Jordan Valley, for carrying out tasks on behalf of Iranian foreign agents for payment. According to the indictment, last month a foreign agent identifying himself as "Alex" contacted the defendant via a Telegram dating group and offered him 2,000 shekels per day for performing various tasks. Pinsky agreed and, when suspicions arose that "Alex" was Iranian, replied that “it doesn't matter and he doesn’t want to know.” The agent then asked him to send a photo of his ID card and verification videos, in return for which he was paid.
On Monday, Yuvda Yisrailov, 31, and Doria Achiel, 29, a couple from Ra'anana, were arrested on suspicion of espionage on behalf of Iran. Their detention was extended by eight days. According to police, the charges include transmitting classified information with intent to harm state security, contact with a foreign agent, conspiracy to commit a crime, and drug possession and use.