Man to be charged with spying for Iran for ‘ideological motives’

A man from northern Israel was to be charged with carrying out espionage tasks on behalf of Iran, “out of ideological motives,” authorities announced on Sunday.

Wissam Ghaleb Saleh Awad, a resident of Mazra’a, was detained last month following a joint investigation by the Shin Bet security agency and Israel Police into his suspected contact with a foreign agent and alleged missions he carried out that were allegedly detrimental to national security.

According to the Shin Bet and police, Awad had initiated contact with Iranian operatives through the Telegram messaging app and “offered his services out of ideological motives, wishing to carry out an act of revenge and without any financial compensation, while expressing identification with terror organizations such as Hezbollah.”

Awad carried out missions on behalf of the Iranian operatives, including “photographing strategic facilities, military bases and police stations, and transferring footage and coordinates to his handlers for future use,” the joint statement said.

The police said that officers last month raided Awad’s home, arrested him, and seized cellphones and computers.

“Following the conclusion of the investigation and the establishment of a solid evidentiary basis,” an indictment charging Awad with security offenses was to be filed at the Haifa Magistrate’s Court, the Shin Bet and police said in the statement.

Prosecutors were to ask the court to order Awad kept in custody until the end of legal proceedings.

The Shin Bet and police said they view “any involvement by Israeli citizens in activities that endanger state security gravely.”

Over the past two years, dozens of Israelis, including several soldiers and reservists, have been charged with espionage on behalf of Iran. In many cases, Iranian agents recruited Israelis via social media, specifically through Telegram, with the motive thought to be financial.

In May, though, prosecutors charged a resident of Tira on suspicion that he willingly provided Iran with information on sensitive sites out of deep animosity toward Israel, even urging a missile strike on his hometown.

Iranian handlers usually first assign their recruits relatively mundane tasks such as vandalism or the filming of public locations, which then escalate into more severe, sometimes even violent offenses.

The growing number of Iranian agents has even prompted Israel to open up a new wing in Haifa’s Damon prison for those indicted on such spying charges. Most of the cases are still making their way through the legal system.