Security services suspect that Jirias Jirias, 58, was recruited by an Iranian agent in September 2004, while on a trip to Cyprus. The agent, Hani Abdullah, tried to use Jirias to influence Israeli politics on behalf of Iran.
A few months after meeting Abdullah, Jirias attempted to carry out his mission by joining the left wing Meretz-Yahad party. Jirias became active in the party and expressed interest in becoming a Member of Knesset. The Meretz-Yahad party, headed by MK Yossi Beilin, is in favor of creating an Arab state in all of Judea, Samaria, Gaza, and parts of Jerusalem, including the Old City and the Temple Mount.
(Alternatively, the party favors the Geneva Initiative, a proposal to retain a few large communities in Judea and Samaria in exchange for Israeli territory liberated in 1948.)
Early in 2005, Jirias again met his Iranian handlers in Cyprus. This time they told him to start making ties with Israeli government officials. Jirias was finally arrested on December 12.
While a newcomer to Israeli national politics, Jirias was an old-timer at working against the interests of the Jewish state. Jirias fled the country in 1970 after security services discovered he had become an activist in the Fatah terror group of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
While in Lebanon, Jirias first met Abdullah, who later served as agent for Iranian intelligence. During the 1980’s the two men lived in Cyprus.
Despite Jirias’s overt anti-Israel activity, Israeli authorities allowed him back into the country in 1996, three years after signing the Oslo accords. This agreement, signed by former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO terrorist chief Yasser Arafat, established the Palestinian Authority in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. Since its founding, the PA has been ruled by the Fatah terror group.
Jirias was elected Mayor of Fasuta, a town in the northern Galilee just six kilometers south of the Lebanese border, in a rotation agreement that began in May 2001. In November 2003, he lost a bid for reelection.
A few months after meeting Abdullah, Jirias attempted to carry out his mission by joining the left wing Meretz-Yahad party. Jirias became active in the party and expressed interest in becoming a Member of Knesset. The Meretz-Yahad party, headed by MK Yossi Beilin, is in favor of creating an Arab state in all of Judea, Samaria, Gaza, and parts of Jerusalem, including the Old City and the Temple Mount.
(Alternatively, the party favors the Geneva Initiative, a proposal to retain a few large communities in Judea and Samaria in exchange for Israeli territory liberated in 1948.)
Early in 2005, Jirias again met his Iranian handlers in Cyprus. This time they told him to start making ties with Israeli government officials. Jirias was finally arrested on December 12.
While a newcomer to Israeli national politics, Jirias was an old-timer at working against the interests of the Jewish state. Jirias fled the country in 1970 after security services discovered he had become an activist in the Fatah terror group of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
While in Lebanon, Jirias first met Abdullah, who later served as agent for Iranian intelligence. During the 1980’s the two men lived in Cyprus.
Despite Jirias’s overt anti-Israel activity, Israeli authorities allowed him back into the country in 1996, three years after signing the Oslo accords. This agreement, signed by former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO terrorist chief Yasser Arafat, established the Palestinian Authority in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. Since its founding, the PA has been ruled by the Fatah terror group.
Jirias was elected Mayor of Fasuta, a town in the northern Galilee just six kilometers south of the Lebanese border, in a rotation agreement that began in May 2001. In November 2003, he lost a bid for reelection.