The Haifa District Court sentences a man to 55 months in prison for spying on behalf of Iran, including making a recording near the home of former defense minister Yoav Gallant.
Fares Abu al-Hija, 32, from the small Arab town of Kaukab in northern Israel, was convicted of contact with a foreign agent as part of a plea deal.
He was accused of carrying out several tasks for Iran between October 2025 and January 2026, ending with the mission outside Gallant’s home in northern Israel’s Amikam, where Abu al-Hija was arrested.
Other tasks included recording a Tel Aviv cafe and hiding cellphones, money and a password for a cryptocurrency wallet. The tasks earned Abu al-Hija a total of some $3,600, prosecutors say.
Abu al-Hija received the tasks and the payments from an account he corresponded with on Telegram. He suspected the contact was an Iranian agent, but neglected to investigate the matter, the court says.
The court says he has no criminal record and expressed regret for his actions. He is given two years’ probation in addition to his jail time.
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From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
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