Israel and the Palestinian Territories

Iranian Jewish Spy Arrested in Israel by Shin Bet

An Iranian Jew was arrested by the Shin Bet early Friday morning on suspicion of spying for Iranian security forces, the Shin Bet announced. The suspected spy, who has relatives in Israel, was detained after landing in Israel and admitted that he had come to Israel to gather intelligence and take photos for Iranian security officials. Before coming to Israel, the suspect met with Iranian security officials and received a tissue box intended for the disposal of camera equipment, phones, mobile chargers, and money.

The suspect was told that he would receive addresses to monitor in Israel from his Iranian operator. After the investigation was completed, the Iranian Jew was refused entry to Israel and boarded a plane to head back to Iran.

"This event is part of a broad Iranian effort to establish espionage and terror axes in Israel, alongside the influence in the network to widen the social divide," said the Shin Bet. "The Shin Bet, together with its partners in the security system, works all the time and will continue to work resolutely to detect and thwart Iran's attempts to act against the State of Israel both in the face of terrorist activity and espionage and cyber."

Last week, the Shin Bet exposed a phishing campaign carried out by Iranian officials aimed at gathering intelligence about Israeli policies and citizens. The campaign mainly targeted civil servants and researchers at research institutes using fake LinkedIn profiles impersonating known Israeli citizens. The officials invited the targeted citizens to a conference with a file containing malicious code giving them access to the targets’ computers.

Lebanon and Hezbollah

Two Killed in Clash Between Lebanon's Hezbollah, Christian Villagers

Two people were killed in Lebanon on Wednesday in an exchange of fire between Hezbollah members and residents of a Christian village after a truck belonging to the heavily armed Shi'ite group overturned in the area, security sources said. A member of the Iran-backed Hezbollah and a resident of the mountain village of Kahaleh were killed in the clash, some 12 km (7 miles) southeast of Beirut, the sources said. The sides accused each other of starting the deadly clash.

Lebanese troops immediately cordoned off the truck filled with large boxes in the Christian town of Kahaleh on the highway that links Beirut to the eastern Bekaa Valley. Hours after the accident, a giant crane was brought in that moved the boxes into an army truck that drove in the direction of Beirut. It was reportedly heading to the Defense Ministry just a few kilometers (miles) away from the location in question. The highway is believed to be used by Hezbollah to bring weapons from eastern Lebanon and Syria to its headquarters south of Beirut.

It marked the most serious confrontation between Hezbollah and its Lebanese opponents since deadly clashes in Beirut’s Ain Al Remmeneh/Tayyouneh neighborhood nearly two years ago, threatening to worsen sectarian tensions as Lebanon is paralyzed by deep political and economic crises. Local lawmakers from the Lebanese Forces, a Christian party opposed to Hezbollah, accused the group of transporting weapons in the truck. Hezbollah said the vehicle was its property and accused "militias" in the area of attacking its crew, saying a man “protecting the truck” was wounded and later died. In a statement, it said an exchange of fire had taken place with “the attacking gunmen.” It did not say what was on the truck. The group buried its member killed in the clash on Wednesday.

Hezbollah Initiates Trash Collection in Sidon

Hezbollah’s official newspaper Al-Ahed announced on Friday that the group was continuing with its six-month-long trash collection initiative in the town of Al-Faylat, a lower income area located near south Lebanon’s city of Sidon and the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp. Al-Faylat has long suffered from neglect by the Lebanese government and municipal authorities, with resident complaints of lack of electricity, water, proper sewage drainage, and damaged roads going unanswered for years.  

This week, as local resident demands to collect mounting piles of trash went unanswered again by government officials, Hezbollah stepped in, deploying several trash collection trucks and even small bulldozers to remove the piles of garbage.  

The Shiite militant organization has touched off several ostensibly socially conscious initiatives throughout Lebanon – including in non-Shiite areas like Akkar – to project an image of responsibility amidst Lebanon’s ongoing economic collapse. Hezbollah likely hopes such initiatives that fill the widening gaps of state responsibility will stave off Lebanese anger at the group for contributing to the country’s current dire straits. 

IRGC’s Quds Force Commander Visits Lebanon 

Amid Hezbollah’s escalation against Israel, local reports suggested the Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC)’s Quds Force Esmail Ghaani arrived in Beirut this week ahead of a meeting with Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. This comes after Ghaani visited Syria.

Syria 

Syria’s Assad Claims Israeli Airstrikes Target Syrian Forces, Using Iran as ‘Excuse’

Syrian President Bashar Assad said Israeli airstrikes in Syria were targeting his country’s military, and not Iranian forces, in an interview broadcast on Wednesday. “The Israeli attacks are mainly directed against the Syrian army,” Assad told Sky News Arabia in a rare interview. “It’s an excuse that it’s an Iranian presence,” Assad said. Assad also indicated that his government’s ties to the Hamas have been strained by over a decade of civil war in Syria, despite the recent highly publicized reconciliation between Damascus and the Palestinian militant group. But the Syrian president said that it was “too early” to speak of resuming normal ties with the terror group. “For now, Hamas does not have offices in Damascus,” he added in the interview. Assad also noted in the interview that Damascus would not intervene to solve Lebanon’s mounting crises, despite the fact that Syria is in no position to do so and Iran and its Lebanese offshoot – Hezbollah – currently possess the upper hand in Damascus itself.

Airstrikes in Syria

Four Syrian soldiers were killed and another four were wounded in an Israeli missile attack near Damascus early on Monday. Israeli reports suggested that a scientist working on the production of precision missiles was one of those killed in the strike.