‘There is a real possibility that the main charge will be aiding the enemy in wartime, for which the penalty is death or life imprisonment’
JERUSALEM – Israel’s security services made two separate announcements – on Monday evening and the other on Tuesday morning – that two cells of seven individuals each – one based in the north and the other in an Arab Jerusalem neighborhood – were arrested on suspicion of having spied for Iran.
The initial group of seven – which comprised seven Jewish Israelis who originally hailed from Azerbaijan – and who were arrested in September, although that information was only released Monday, are all residents of Haifa. It is thought the cell may have been in operation for as long as two years, and it is feared they carried out potentially hundreds of tasks at the Islamic Republic’s behest.
“This is one of the most severe cases we’ve ever investigated. There is a real possibility that the main charge will be aiding the enemy in wartime, for which the penalty is death or life imprisonment,” said Chief Superintendent Yaron Binyamin, who heads the Lahav 433 serious crimes unit of the Israel Police, according to the Times of Israel.