Israeli prosecutors on Thursday filed an indictment against Ahmad Shehab, accusing him of contacting a foreign agent and providing information to the enemy during the June conflict with Iran, according to a report by Israel National News.
According to the indictment, the 32-year-old resident of the northern Arab Muslim-majority coastal town of Jisr az-Zarqa communicated via the Telegram app with a person posing as a German journalist who was, in fact, an Iranian agent. During their exchanges, Shehab allegedly supplied information about the locations and impact of Iranian missile strikes in Israel, which he collected from local news outlets.
Haifa District prosecutors said the defendant knew the individual worked on behalf of Iran but continued the contact in exchange for money.
Authorities said Shehab transferred about 40 pieces of information and met the agent several times, including once in central Haifa, where he received an envelope containing roughly 3,000 shekels ($900) in cash after requesting payment in person rather than online.
Prosecutors charged him with contact with a foreign agent and providing information to the enemy, offenses they said could jeopardize Israel’s national security.
