According to the Al-Akhbar report, one of the suspects admitted that he had been recently recruited into Israeli intelligence. He also reportedly admitted that, as part of his espionage activities, he received maps of sites and instructions about gatherings at facilities in Lebanon belonging to the Hezbollah organization.
LAST WEEK, LEBANON’S GENERAL Security Directorate
charged
two Russian citizens with spying for Israel. The two Russians, who
appear to be legally married to each other, were detained by authorities
at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport as they were attempting
to leave the country. The detentions were reported by the Lebanese
newspaper
Al-Akhbar, which is affiliated with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
According to the Al-Akhbar
report, one of the suspects admitted that he had been recently recruited
into Israeli intelligence. He also reportedly admitted that, as part of
his espionage activities, he received maps of sites and instructions
about gatherings at facilities in Lebanon belonging to the Hezbollah
organization. He added that he had been instructed to access, inspect
and, if possible, photograph these facilities. He also reportedly
admitted that he had visited southern Lebanon and entered
Hamas-controlled areas of southern Beirut, where he had collected data
and verified it against the information available to his handlers.
The report added that the suspect’s wife,
who was also arrested, admitted under interrogation that she was aware
of her husband’s work and that she had assisted him in his tasks.
According to the report the General Security Directorate had suspected
the Russian citizen, because he had traveled in southern Lebanon several
times. Lebanese authorities were able to track his movements and
connections, eventually tracing his place of residence. He was arrested
along with his wife soon after being notified by his handlers that he
should leave the country immediately.
Al-Akhbar added that, prior to
the arrest, the General Security Directorate had informed the Russian
Embassy in Beirut of its intention to arrest the Russian citizens. The
agency’s Director, Elias Elbisri, said following the arrest: “A spy ring
for the benefit of the Israeli enemy was foiled at the Beirut airport,
consisting of two people who tried to leave Lebanon”. According to
Elbisri, “we carried out the necessary investigations; this cell posed a
threat to Lebanon”.
Israeli authorities did not respond to
news about the incident. It should be noted that, if Russian citizens
were indeed recruited and employed by Israeli intelligence, this
development could further-damage the relationship between Israel and
Russia, which is already fragile due to ongoing developments in Syria
and Ukraine. Israel regularly launches attacks on Iranian facilities and
equipment in Syria —a Russian ally. Israel is also believed to provide
security assistance to Ukraine, which is engaged in a bloody war over
territory with Russia.
In recent days, there have been leaks in
Israel that an intense debate took place in the Israeli Security
Cabinet, following the rise in Palestinian acts of terrorism in Israel,
which, according to Israeli security agencies, are guided by Hezbollah
and Hamas. As a result, Hamas operatives in the Gaza Strip are taking
protective actions, fearing the renewal of targeted killings by Israeli
forces. Salah al-Aruri, commander of Hamas’ Izz ad-Din al-Qassam
Brigades, who is directing his forces against Israel from abroad, could
also be a target for the Israeli intelligence community.