From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
3 Israelis arrested for allegedly carrying out tasks for Iran against Israeli national security
The Shin Bet announces that three Israeli citizens were arrested over the past two weeks on suspicion of carrying out actions in the sphere of national security
in Israel, under the direction of Iranian intelligence agents.
According to the investigation, one of the suspects — Elimelech Stern, a 21-year-old resident of Beit Shemesh — was in contact through the Telegram application with a profile named “ANNA ELENA.”
It was via this profile that Stern was asked to carry out various tasks, including hanging signs in Tel Aviv, hiding money in various places in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, delivering packages to the doorsteps of Israeli civilians containing a severed head of an animal or a doll next to a knife and a threatening message, setting fire to a forest and more.
Investigators said that Stern agreed to carry out the activities as asked, with the exception of committing murder and setting a forest fire.
The Shin Bet says Stern was paid in cryptocurrency, and that he recruited two other Israelis to help him.
“The use of the method of contacting Israeli citizens through social networks, under the false representation of the identity of the person making the request, is a well-known method of operation of the Iranian intelligence agencies,” the Shin Bet says in the statement.
Last year, two Israelis were cleared of charges that they spied for Iran, while a third was convicted on a related charge, wrapping up a case that began with serious espionage accusations against five nationals with either personal or family ties to the Islamic Republic.
