The Shin Bet on Thursday said that four Israeli citizens were arrested in a joint operation with the police and the IDF, for possession of a large amount of "high quality" weapons from Iran including two explosive devices. One of the men had been in contact with an operative of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group.
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The suspects who were arrested in July were identified as Jalal Khursa, 28, Ahmed Issa, 30, and Muhammed Issa, 39, from Kafr Qasim, and Nuh Assam, 30, from Lod. They were indicted on Thursday on weapons offenses.
The security officials said the weapons were meant to be used to kill a rival gang leader as part of the ongoing battle between crime gangs in the Arab sector but were obtained using the smuggling routes of terror organizations. The investigation revealed that Iran was arming criminal gangs with military-grade explosive devices.
In a raid on a home in Lod, other citizens of Israel who were intending to use one of the explosive devices were detained. The security services said their investigation revealed that a Hezbollah operative, enlisted Israelis to establish and operate a smuggling route for weapons and to disseminate them to criminal gangs, among others.
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Iranian-made explosive device found in the possession of Israeli citizens
(Photo: Shin Bet)
A Shin Bet official said that once again the efforts of Iran and its proxy the Hezbollah group, attempted to use Israelis in their acts of aggression against Israel. "This also shows how fine the line is between criminal activity and terrorism," he said.
First published: 16:50, 08.24.23