It’s encouraging to see Israeli army officers and civilians dissenting from the policies of the Israeli government, and aiding the legitimate resistance groups of occupied peoples. ![]()
I wonder how many more of him there are in the Israeli army?
IDF officer denies allegations that he spied for Hezbollah
An IDF lieutenant colonel charged with spying for Hezbollah in return for money and drugs has denied all allegations against him, his attorney said Wednesday. The officer was one of 11 Israeli citizens recently arrested by the Shin Bet Security Service on suspicion of passing information to the militant group, it was released for publication Wednesday.
The lieutenant colonel was arrested on suspicion of providing Hezbollah with information on troop deployments in exchange for money and drugs, said his lawyer, Amnon Zichroni. “He did not do this. He is faithful to the state… The people who made these accusations did so because of pressure from investigators,” he told Israel Radio. 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. Israel Radio said security forces latched onto the spy operation after a cellular phone belonging to one of the suspects was found in March 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. “In a Shin Bet, police and army investigation, an army officer was recently arrested on suspicion of transferring intelligence information to Hezbollah… for money and drugs,” an IDF spokesman said Wednesday.
"The IDF regards with great gravity the transfer of information regarding security forces and operations to an enemy. It… condemns this unusual incident and all attempts to harm the security of Israeli citizens and soldiers." 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. 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. 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.
Network sold cellular phone found on body of terrorist Another suspect in the affair is suspected of transferring information as well as cellular phones in exchange for $24,000. 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. 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.