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Israeli woman charged with spying for Iran

The Nazareth resident was accused of photographing military and energy sites for an Iranian handler in exchange for payment.

Smoke rises over Haifa’s oil refinery on June 15, 2025, after it was reportedly damaged in an overnight Iranian missile attack. Photo by Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images.
Smoke rises over Haifa’s oil refinery on June 15, 2025, after it was reportedly damaged in an overnight Iranian missile attack.
Photo by Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images.

Israeli authorities have charged a Nazareth woman with security offenses after investigators said she carried out surveillance and information-gathering tasks for an Iranian handler, Israel Police said on Wednesday.

Police and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) said Shomua Abu Abed was arrested in March and accused of photographing military sites, Haifa oil refineries and collecting details on a former Israeli defense official.

Investigators said Abu Abed suspected early on that she was working for an Iranian operative but continued completing the assignments in exchange for hundreds of dollars paid through a digital wallet.

Missile fire from Iran caused minor damage to Israel’s largest petrol refinery near Haifa on March 30, which will affect neither the production nor the supply of fuel, according to Israeli Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen following the attack.

“No one was hurt in the strike on Bazan, and the strike was not in production facilities and won’t disrupt fuel supply,” Cohen stated.

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