Israel indicts soldier on charges he spied for Iran
The statement said the soldier, who was not named, had sent the Iranians videos of Israeli missile interceptions and sites hit by Iranian rocket fire in last month's 12-day war between the arch enemies.
The security service said he had not sent material collected during his duties with the Israeli army and added that none of the information given to Iran had been classified.
However, the statement said: 'This is considered a particularly grave incident involving direct contact between an [Israeli army] soldier and hostile foreign elements.'
A military court ordered that he should remain in custody until next week.
News of the indictment came just one day after Israel launched an unusual, nationwide media campaign warning citizens against spying for Iran. The ads said people who took Iranian cash in return for information faced up to 15 years in prison.
For its part, Iran has executed several people over the past month after they were convicted of collaborating with Israel and facilitating covert operations in the country.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Pakistan PM orders special flight arrangements for pilgrims' travel to Iran, Iraq
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has asked authorities to make special flight arrangements to facilitate Pakistani pilgrims' travel to Iran and Iraq, Pakistani state media reported on Sunday. The development came hours after Pakistan suspended road travel to Iran and Iraq for the Arbaeen pilgrimage this year, citing public safety and national security concerns. Thousands of Pakistanis travel to Iran and Iraq annually to visit religious sites, including observing Arbaeen (Arabic for 'forty'), a significant religious occasion in Shia Islam that marks the end of a 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussain, who was 'martyred' in the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD. On Sunday, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met with PM Sharif and briefed him regarding the new policy for Pakistani Shia pilgrims' travel to Iran and Iraq, the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency reported. 'The prime minister directed the Minister for Aviation to arrange special flights for the zaireen (pilgrims),' the report read. Pakistanis traveling to Iran and Iraq via road have often been targeted in sectarian attacks by armed groups in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, which shares border with Iran. Islamabad's decision to restrict road travel came in the wake of a rise in militant attacks in the province by ethnic Baloch militant groups who demand a greater share of the province's mineral resources from Islamabad. 'After extensive consultations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Balochistan Government, and security agencies, it has been decided that zaireen will not be allowed to travel to Iraq and Iran by road for Arbaeen this year,' Naqvi wrote on X. The Pakistani government is also introducing a new, centralized system for organizing pilgrimages to holy sites in Iran and Iraq that would require interested parties to register as tour operators, the Pakistani religious affairs minister announced this month. The statement followed an announcement by Naqvi that Pakistani pilgrims would not be able to individually travel for religious pilgrimages from Jan. 1 next year. The decision was made after Iran, Iraq and Syria raised concerns with Islamabad about some of these Pakistani pilgrims overstaying their visas or working illegally in the host countries. Pakistan previously had no formal structure for people to travel to Iran and Iraq for religious purposes. Although a system was approved in 2021 to organize these pilgrimages, but little progress was made on its implementation.
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
The UN, the Palestinians, Israel and a stalled two-state solution
UNITED NATIONS: Ever since the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states in 1947, the United Nations has been inextricably linked to the fate of Palestinians, with the organization meeting this week hoping to revive the two-state solution. Here is a timeline on the issue: In November 1947, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 181 dividing Palestine — which was then under British mandate — into Jewish and Arab states, with a special international zone for Jerusalem. Zionist leaders accepted the resolution, but it was opposed by Arab states and the Palestinians. Israel declared independence in May 1948, triggering the Arab-Israeli war which was won convincingly by Israel the following year. Around 760,000 Palestinians fled their homes or were expelled — an event known as the 'Nakba,' Arabic for 'catastrophe,' which the United Nations only officially commemorated for the first time in May 2023. In the aftermath of the Six-Day War of 1967, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 242, which called for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from territories occupied during the conflict, including the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem. But linguistic ambiguities between the English and French versions of the resolutions complicated matters, making the scope of the required withdrawal unclear. In November 1974, Yasser Arafat, head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), gave his first speech to the UN General Assembly in New York, saying he carried both 'an olive branch and a freedom fighter's gun.' Days later, the UN General Assembly recognized the Palestinians' right to self-determination and independence. It granted UN observer status to the PLO as a representative of the Palestinian people. One of the strongest peace initiatives did not come from the United Nations. In 1993, Israel and the PLO — which in 1988 unilaterally declared an independent State of Palestine — wrapped up months of secret negotiations in Norway's capital Oslo. The two sides signed a 'declaration of principles' on Palestinian autonomy and, in 1994, Arafat returned to the Palestinian territories after a long exile and formed the Palestinian Authority, the governing body for the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. UN Security Council decisions on how to treat the Palestinians have always depended on the position of the veto-wielding United States. Since 1972, Washington has used its veto more than 30 times to protect its close ally Israel. But sometimes, it allows key resolutions to advance. In March 2002, the Security Council — at Washington's initiative — adopted Resolution 1397, the first to mention a Palestinian state existing alongside Israel, with secure and recognized borders. In December 2016, for the first time since 1979, the Council called on Israel to stop building settlements in the Palestinian territories — a measure that went through thanks to a US abstention, just before the end of Barack Obama's White House term. And in March 2024, another US abstention — under pressure from the international community — allowed the Security Council to call for an immediate ceasefire amid Israel's offensive on Hamas in Gaza, sparked by the militants' October 7 attack. That measure came after the United States blocked three similar drafts. In 2011, Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas initiated the process of requesting membership of the State of Palestine to the UN, which required a positive recommendation from the Security Council, followed by a favorable vote from the General Assembly. In the face of opposition from the United States, the process was halted even before a vote in the Council. The following year, the General Assembly granted the Palestinians a lower status as a 'non-member observer State.' In April 2024, the Palestinians renewed their request to become a full-fledged member state, but the United States vetoed it. If the Palestinian request had cleared the Security Council hurdle, it would have had every chance of being approved by the necessary two-thirds majority in the Assembly. According to an AFP database, at least 142 of the 193 UN member states unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. In the absence of full membership, the Assembly granted the Palestinians new rights in 2024, seating them in alphabetical order of states, and allowing to submit resolution proposals themselves for the first time.
Arab News
8 hours ago
- Arab News
Yemen's Houthis threaten to target ships linked to firms dealing with Israeli ports
Yemen's Houthis said on Sunday they would target any ships belonging to companies that do business with Israeli ports, regardless of their nationalities, as part of what they called the fourth phase of their military operations against Israel. In a televised statement, the Houthis' military spokesperson warned that ships would be attacked if companies ignored their warnings, regardless of their destination. 'The Yemeni Armed Forces call on all countries, if they want to avoid this escalation, to pressure the enemy to halt its aggression and lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip,' he added. Since Israel's war in Gaza began in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking ships they deem as bound or linked to Israel in what they say are acts of solidarity with Palestinians. In May, the US announced a surprise deal with the Houthis where it agreed to stop a bombing campaign against them in return for an end to shipping attacks, though the Houthis said the deal did not include sparing Israel.
