A resident of northern Israel who is learning at Ben Gurion University in the Negev has been arrested on suspicion of carrying out espionage activities for Iran.
Bashar Hassan Qassem Musa, 22, has been under investigation for the past month by Northern District Police investigators and the Israel Security Agency (ISA).
An Israeli Arab resident of the Galilee village of Deir al-Asad, Musa is a student in the information systems program at the university in Be’er Sheva.
He is accused of maintaining contact with Iranian intelligence operatives and carrying out missions for the Tehran regime, including an attempted attack on an unnamed public figure, scattering nails on a major traffic artery in Be’er Sheva and “encouraging divisive discourse,” according to the ISA (Shin Bet).
Musa was allegedly motivated by Israel’s ongoing military operation in Gaza and received payments from his Iranian contact for his activities on behalf of Tehran.
The suspect is expected to be formally charged by state prosecutors in the Southern District Attorney’s Office in the coming days.
Earlier this month, several additional Israelis were arrested on suspicion of separately spying on behalf of Iran as well.
Two women who raised suspicions among Hasidic women in the village of Kfar Chabad were both arrested on suspicion of espionage of behalf of Iran. One was a foreign citizen of Russian nationality; the second was an Israeli citizen. The two women entered the village equipped with cameras, very large sums of money and photographs of Ben Gurion International Airport, and other sites.
Another suspect, 28-year-old Dmitri Cohen of Haifa, was accused of surveilling Amit Yardeni (Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s future daughter-in-law)- and her family, in addition to spying on other Israelis Israeli media reported Monday.
Cohen was arrested last month for allegedly passing on photos and information about the targets’ homes and surrounding areas. He received $500 per task, earning thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency from Iran.
A second suspected Iranian spy was arrested Sunday by police and ISA agents. The unnamed 27-year-old Tel Aviv resident allegedly photographed the homes of public officials and military bases in addition to spray painting incitement throughout the city. He, too, received thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency from his Iranian handler for his efforts.
A third suspected Iranian spy was arrested recently as well. The 19-year-old Sharon region resident was believed to have contacted an Iranian agent and to have transferred sensitive information to him during the war.
