Tamra resident indicted for contacting Hamas, Iran with offers to help
Separately, Majd al-Krum man nabbed for contact with Lebanese foreign agent; Palestinian-American correspondent for Iranian state TV has detention extended after West Bank arrest
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A resident of the Arab city of Tamra, in northern Israel, was set to be indicted Friday on suspicion of repeatedly contacting the Hamas terror group to offer his help with operations against Israel, police said.
A police statement alleged that he was also in touch with Iranian intelligence operatives, but that his arrest on August 28 came before he could carry out any missions on their behalf.
Additionally, the police arrested a man from the northern Arab town of Majd al-Krum for alleged contact with a foreign agent from Lebanon. And the police extended the arrest of a Palestinian-American journalist from the West Bank who worked for Iranian state TV.
Tamra’s Sultan Abu al-Haija, 31, is suspected of contacting Hamas’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, to offer his help.
His arrest was a joint operation of the Israel Police and Shin Bet security service, which shared footage of the raid.
The indictment was set to be filed in the Haifa District Court on Friday by prosecutor Shir Moshiav.
Security forces carry out an operation to arrest Sultan Abu al-Haija, 31, of Tamra, who is accused of contacting Hamas and Iranian agents to help them operate against Israel. August 28, 2026 (Israel Police)
Separately, a Majd al-Krum resident, 32, was arrested following a joint investigation by the police’s Lahav 433 major crimes unit and the Shin Bet, the police said.
He is suspected of being in contact with a foreign agent from Lebanon and carrying out security-related tasks on her behalf, with full knowledge of who he was dealing with. The statement did not state any connection to the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.
The police statement added that the Lebanese agent attempted to financially compensate him for his work by purchasing products in Israel and having them sent to him.
An indictment is expected to be filed on Sunday at the Haifa District Court.
Smotrich: Galilee is experiencing an ‘October 6 climate’
Responding to that case, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote on X: “I reiterate: In the Galilee, we have an October 6 climate,” comparing the security situation in the north to that of the Gaza border area on the eve of Hamas’s 2023 invasion and massacre, the worst attack in Israel’s history.
“Days ago, it became clear that what could set the Galilee aflame is not some shepherds’ farm, but rather radical Islamic forces that are establishing themselves in a place where there aren’t enough Jews,” he continued, a seeming reference to the many illegal farming outposts settlers have established in the West Bank in recent years, which critics say escalate tensions in the territory and fuel settler violence.
He also referenced a social media post of his from earlier this week, which he said included footage from northern Israel of people chanting “Long live Palestine.”
“That wasn’t a mistake,” he wrote. “There are forces there that view the State of Israel as an enemy that must be fought.”
“The time has come to carry over the revolution in Judea and Samaria to the Galilee and the Negev,” he added, presumably referring to the dramatic expansion of settlements and illegal outposts in the West Bank during the current government’s term.
Doing so could “save the State of Israel from the next October 7,” he said.
Palestinian correspondent for Iran state media arrested
In addition, on Thursday, a court extended the remand of Naqaa Hamed, a Palestinian journalist in her 30s who lives in the West Bank, until September 23.
Hamed, a US citizen, is suspected of incitement, support for a hostile organization, and commerce with an enemy, apparently over her work for Press TV, an Iranian state-owned news outlet.
“Together with the security bodies, we will continue to operate with determination against crimes of incitement and support for terrorism, until we bring to justice anyone who has taken part in those acts,” the police said.
Naqaa Hamed is now the second Drop Site contributor wrongfully detained by Israeli forces for their West Bank coverage in the last month.
Her arrest comes after suffering weeks of settler-led incitement on Telegram channels & in Hebrew media for her reporting on the Qusra siege https://t.co/Gn5EVPjhKS pic.twitter.com/KGmi3cU2Zm
— Maysa Mustafa (@maysamustafa) September 16, 2026
Her arrest was reported on Tuesday, with the Committee to Protect Journalists saying she was detained at a temporary Israeli checkpoint near Bethlehem.
US Senator Chris Van Hollen, sharing the CPJ report, called for Hamed’s release on Thursday, posting to X, “Another American citizen wrongfully detained by the Israeli [government].”
“Naqaa Hamed, an American journalist, was stopped by the IDF, interrogated about her work, & now faces bogus espionage allegations. The Israeli govt should immediately release Naqaa, NOW,” he wrote.
According to the CPJ, Hamed was returning from an assignment in Masaffer Yatta, near Hebron, along with two cameramen who were also detained but were later released. Masafer Yatta has been the site of Israeli demolitions and is a flashpoint of conflict.
In recent weeks, calls for her arrest had circulated on social media, citing her work for Press TV. The popular Abu Ali Express account on social media took issue last month with Hamed’s coverage of events in Qusra, where settlers besieged Palestinians’ homes.
Leon Kraiem contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.