The Haifa Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday sentenced Pars Abu al-Hij'a, a 32-year-old Arab Israeli resident of Jisr az-Zarqa, to four and a half years in prison for offenses involving contact with an Iranian foreign intelligence agent.
According to the case, Abu al-Hij'a photographed crowded public locations for Iranian intelligence operatives before being instructed to document the home of former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. He received a total of approximately $3,000 for the missions.
Abu al-Hij'a was arrested earlier this year while carrying out an intelligence-gathering mission. During his interrogation by the Israel Security Agency (ISA) and Police, he admitted to maintaining contact with the foreign agent.
Meanwhile, the ISA and Police announced that an indictment was filed at the end of last week against Sultan Abu al-Hij'a, a 31-year-old resident of the Arab city of Tamra, who was arrested on suspicion of establishing contact with Hamas' military wing and Iranian intelligence operatives in an effort to secretly assist them.
In a separate case, a 32-year-old Arab resident of Majd al-Krumc was arrested on suspicion of maintaining contact for several months with a foreign agent from Lebanon and carrying out security-related missions for her in exchange for attempted payments.
The cases come alongside a serious indictment filed last month against two Ashkelon residents, Tamerlan Amshukov and Alina Kushnirenko, accused of spying for Iran.