- Eleven Israeli citizens, including a lieutenant colonel
in the Israel Defense Forces, were recently arrested by the Shin Bet Security
Service on suspicion of spying for Hezbollah, it was released for publication
Wednesday.
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- According to the allegations, the IDF officer gave Hezbollah
sensitive information on the army's movement along the northern border
and weak spots in the border security fence, in exchange for money and
drugs.
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- Information on senior IDF Northern Command officers was
also transferred, specifically on former GOC Northern Command Major General
Gaby Ashkenazy and the command's division chief. Hezbollah apparently asked
for information on the officers to be gathered in order to check the feasibility
of an assassination attempt on either or both men. Information on soldiers
positioned in key outposts and in intelligence installations was also relayed,
as was information on the location of tank ambushes near the border.
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- According to suspicion, the IDF officer was helped by
various couriers, including members of his family, some of which reside
in his village and some of which live elsewhere. A senior Hezbollah official
in southern Lebanon operated various channels of the spy network; using
Lebanese drug-dealer Kamil Naharda (Abu Said) as their intermediary.
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- Family members of the officer, who described him as a
devoted soldier, said that they do not believe that he committed the crimes.
The officer is being represented by attorney Amnon Zakrony.
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- Another suspect in the affair is suspected of transferring
information as well as cellular phones in exchange for $24,000. One of
the cellular phones was found on the body of the terrorist that carried
out an attack in the vicinity of Kibbutz Metzuba in March, in which six
Israeli civilians were killed.
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- The investigation commenced on September 12, when two
suspects residing in the vicinity of Kibbutz Asa were arrested, in the
possession of 19 kilograms of hashish and 7 kilograms of heroin. The two
were caught while carrying out a drug trade with a dealer on the Lebanese
border. During the subsequent investigation more suspects were arrested.
According to the investigation, there is no link between the spy ring and
the kidnapping of three IDF soldiers from Har Dov in 2000.
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- Over the last two years several cases of Israeli citizens
spying for Hezbollah have been uncovered, but security officials called
the most recent one the gravest and most worrying among them.
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- http://www.haaretzdaily.com
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