clear

Creating new perspectives since 2009

Israel arrests Syrian for ‘spying’ for Hezbollah

February 20, 2023 at 6:32 pm

Fighters of the Lebanese movement Hezbollah [ANWAR AMRO/AFP/Getty Images]

Israeli forces detained a Syrian national for plotting to gather intelligence information, according to the military on Monday, Anadolu News Agency reports.

A military statement said Ghaith Abdullah was arrested on 27 January, along with another person after crossing into Israel from the southern Golan Heights.

The statement accused Abdullah of gathering intelligence information for the Lebanese group, Hezbollah.

The statement, however, did not reveal the fate of the other arrested man.

There was no comment from Syrian authorities, or Hezbollah, on the report.

Last month, Israeli Army Forces killed a Syrian national and injured another for allegedly approaching a border fence between Israel and Syria.

The Golan Heights is a Syrian territory, occupied by Israel in 1967. Tel Aviv announced the annexation of the Heights in 1981, in a move rejected by the international community.

In 2019, former US President Donald Trump recognised Israel’s sovereignty over the Syrian Golan Heights.

OPINION: As Israel plots an endgame in occupied Golan, Naftali Bennett should learn from the past