IDF soldier suspected of spying for Syria

An IDF soldier has been indicted by a military court for providing Syrian intelligence with secret details regarding IDF positions in the country’s north, according to information released for publication Thursday.

Corporal Halal Halabi, a resident of the Druze town of Daliyat al-Karmel, was detained in February. He is accused of passing information to a Golan Heights man, Sidqi al-Maqt, who was indicted on charges that he spied for the Syrian government.

Maqt, 48, of the Druze town of Majdal Shams, was accused of handing over photographs and written reports of IDF positions to Syrian intelligence officials, including a government official named Midhat Saleh, the Ynet news site reported.

According to Channel 2, the prosecution stated that Maqt approached an IDF guard post in a northern army base where Halabi was stationed, and requested that the soldier assist him in gathering information for an article he intended to publish on IDF activity on the Syrian-Israeli border. Maqt told Halabi that his publication would aid the Druze residents of Syria, and the two exchanged phone numbers.

A day later, Maqt called Halabi, who provided him with information on the IDF’s activity in the area. Halabi urged Maqt to observe the activities and guided him on how to respond to soldiers should they try to remove him from the area.

Maqt was arraigned in the Nazareth District Courthouse on counts of espionage, aiding the enemy during wartime, supporting a terrorist organization, and contact with a foreign agent.

Maqt’s lawyer, Yamin Zidan, denied all charges against his client.

He previously spent 27 years in jail on terrorism charges, starting in 1985. He was released in 2012.

The Israeli side of the Golan Heights has four Druze towns. Many of the residents feel they are Syrians, and maintain connections with their brethen over the border, who make up about 5 percent of Syria’s pre-war population of 23 million people.

Lazar Berman contributed to this report.