Shin Bet arrests Palestinians accused of spying for Hamas 

Two Palestinians have been indicted in Israel for serious security offences after being accused of spying for Hamas, the country’s internal security agency, Shin Bet, revealed today. The two men were arrested on 29 November, allegedly after carrying out intelligence gathering operations linked to Israel’s military infrastructure, including the Iron Dome missile defence system.

They have been identified as Hussein Biari, 30, a resident of Jaffa with relatives in the Gaza Strip, and Mahmoud Ahmad, 33, a resident of the Gaza Strip. The investigation is said to have found that the pair received their instructions from Hamas and worked secretly to photograph Israeli soldiers at the Ashkelon Central Station.

According to the Jerusalem Post, “Biari was asked by Hamas to incite the Arab population in Israel against the state, obtain weapons and carry out an attack on Israeli territory.”

“Hamas is taking advantage of border crossings to promote terrorist activity in Israel and cause citizens to endanger their families in Israel and the Gaza Strip,” claimed Shin Bet. “The agency takes very seriously any direction of terrorist and espionage activity from the Gaza Strip and will continue to work together with Israel Police and the [Israel Defence Forces] in order to detect and thwart any hostile activity by these organisations in advance.”

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