A report by a Lebanese newspaper revealed how the Israeli Mossad recruits brokers by way of social media.
The Lebanese newspaper “Al-Akhbar” defined within the report, “For the reason that ‘Aqsa Flood’ operation launched by Hamas on October 7, 2023, the Lebanese safety providers have arrested various individuals who colluded with the enemy, together with He offered safety info, photographs and coordinates to Israeli officers earlier than a nurse arrested him within the info division.
In response to the report, “The army investigating choose requested for a jail sentence of three years and 15 years for the agent, which is, as all the time, a lightweight sentence for somebody who offers with enemy international locations in occasions of battle.”
Al-Akhbar famous within the report that “the strategies utilized by Israeli intelligence to recruit Muhammad S. (born 1995), a son of the southern city of al-Tiri, should not dissimilar to the Mossad recruitment operations which were energetic for a few years.” Israeli operators caught him within the spring of 2023, when Mohammed was interacting by way of social media with posts on Fb and “liking” advertisements for eating places and automobiles in an effort to entice him to win prizes.
The report explains that “he (the defendant) acquired an Arabic message by way of the Messenger app from an individual named ‘Tom’ who claimed to work for a humanitarian affiliation that offered providers to these in want. cash or employment alternatives, and the affiliation has facilities world wide, within the Lebanese metropolis of Zahle.” Tom seen Mohamed’s interactions with him, so he started asking private questions on him and his household, similar to his identify , age, denomination, occupation, and the political stance of the residents within the space the place he lives.” Reviews additionally confirmed that the younger man had certainly emptied all the things he had: he was single and presently unemployed, and had beforehand labored as a nurse at Al-Rasoul Al-Aazam Hospital, the place his father labored as a guard and the place residents Work on the hospital. The world the place he lives is loyal to “Hezbollah” and the “Amal Motion” as a result of “Tom gathered as a lot info as attainable in a primary dialog that lasted about an hour and promised to speak once more.”
The report added, “Two days later, Tom contacted Mohammed in writing and requested if he may very well be contacted by cellphone by way of Messenger. Tom spoke with a Lebanese accent through the name and so they had a standard dialog, with the caller chatting with Mohammad assured that the affiliation would assist him and that considered one of his colleagues named Amir would contact him by way of WhatsApp from a overseas quantity.
For his half, “the detainee confirmed to investigators that the matter aroused his suspicions and that he needed to know why the affiliation was so eager to speak with him, however he determined to proceed the communication in an effort to perceive how issues have been progressing.” 5 days later, He acquired a message from “Amir” by way of WhatsApp, saying that the affiliation assigned him to observe up with him to learn how to assist him. Afterwards, “Amir” contacted him by cellphone and advised him in a mix of classical Arabic and colloquial language near the Palestinian dialect that he would switch a sum of cash to assist him.
Throughout the investigation, the report mentioned, “the detainee advised investigators that ‘Amir’ referred to as him two days later and advised him that he was Lebanese, not Palestinian, and that he would go Hadas’ dying The letter’ forwarded him $500. 5 days after receiving the cash, Amir contacted him once more, from whom Muhammad “not directly” realized that he was affiliated with an Israeli entity and requested if he would work for him in trade for cash. When the younger man requested concerning the nature of the work required, ‘Amir’ advised him that he would assign him to gather info on the folks and locations he had designated for him.
“I spotted on the time that Amir was an officer of the Israeli Mossad,” Akhbar quoted Mohammad as saying in his testimony, noting that “[the detainee]nonetheless agreed to hold out the duties assigned to him by Amir, However first he was examined to verify he understood the directions, as Amir gave him a map of the shop and requested him to go to and write a report detailing the shop’s contents, departments, the place the screens have been put in, the focus of guards and the distribution of workers. Certainly, he did as requested, however Amir despatched him a message saying that he had mistakenly recognized the placement the place the surveillance cameras have been put in and advised him that he must go to the placement a number of occasions to test.
In response to Akhbar, “Amir performed a number of related checks on the agent, sending him to go to outlets in and round Tyre and Nabatyeh (southern Lebanese cities) after which telling him about his efficiency Happy. At this level, the agent advised his operator that he wanted dental remedy. A few week later, “Amir” requested him to go to Jounieh, the place he acquired $4,000 from somebody. Subsequently, “Amir” knowledgeable him that he could be assigned a “tough and sophisticated activity” with beneficiant rewards. He requested him to purchase a cell phone SIM card that may not be registered in his identify, and an Android cellphone with a superb digicam and a long-lasting battery. He advised him that he would prepare him to make use of the phone in disguise and supply him with a reputation in a southern area the place he must discover an excuse to dwell there and both discover a job or get married. After coaching him (the agent) on using offline maps and easy methods to use photographs to succeed in particular areas, he was supplied with the coordinates of a sure location within the Rmeileh space the place he was situated, the place a sum of cash was ready for him.
The report states: “The employer requested him if he knew anybody from Hezbollah within the city of Karayeb, so Mohammed gave his employer six names. He was additionally requested to rejoin Hezbollah, which had had its membership frozen resulting from shifting from Beirut to the south. Hezbollah.
Later, “two calls, every lasting three hours, passed off between the agent and his operator, wherein an individual who didn’t communicate Arabic was current and whom ‘Amir’ believed was his supervisor. It turned out that he didn’t Talking Arabic. In each calls, the dialog centered on how he had rejoined the occasion. Mohammed advised the operator that he had acquired “soldier”, “supporter” and fight first assist programs and had fought in Syria. He mentioned he had beforehand labored as a guard on the Grand Prophet Hospital and later labored as a nurse on the similar hospital for a number of years. He described intimately his work throughout the occasion, in addition to the names, names, specs, ages, and areas of the personnel answerable for taking part in fight first assist in Syria. When the operator requested for his monetary quantity on the occasion, he responded that he couldn’t bear in mind it.
The report continued, “The operator supplied to maneuver Mohammad to Israel and requested him to experience his motorbike to the border strip so the Mossad may work to deliver him into Israel, the place he would keep for about two weeks to coach him on easy methods to Fearing publicity, Amir refused, so Amir invited him to journey to a different nation to fulfill him, earlier than the data unit of the Lebanese Inner Safety Forces was capable of assist him, confiscating three of his cell units, his laptop computer and his laptop. Two reminiscence playing cards later, he admitted that he had communicated with the Mossad in 2023 and 2024.
The detainee advised investigators that he had offered his handlers with details about the Hezbollah heart within the city of Al-Kharayeb, the geographical coordinates of the Al-Matariyah neighborhood heart, the coordinates of the Imam Ali Mosque, and photographs of the Hezbollah entrance. and its inside (which he did), in addition to the coordinates of the city Husseiniya and its screens. He famous that his supervisors requested him to maneuver to the south suburbs to dwell and work as a nurse in one of many hospitals, and when he advised them he did not need to do this, he was requested to dwell on the town. -Jabal and submitted an software to work as a nurse within the city’s authorities hospital.
The report states that “after the battle broke out after the ‘Aqsa floods,’ the employer requested Mohammed to supply details about the army operations going down close to his residence and the actions of Hezbollah components within the space. He requested him if he had any acquaintances residing in Al-Bazouriya and Ma’arka city and required him to reside there after gaining job safety by way of marriage or employment.
“Because the battle intensified, the operator offered him with the geo-location coordinates of two factors within the city of Karayeb the place there was a big cluster of retailers and requested him for details about these outlets and their house owners. In truth, the agent photographed all The requested shops included automobile showrooms, outlets promoting cellphones, perfumes, flowers and a mini market. He was additionally requested to watch a retailer promoting cellphones in Saravand City, however he didn’t carry out the duty and insisted on gathering cash first. The entire quantity acquired by the agent from his operator was $7,500, along with an extra $4,000 that was supposed to succeed in the Al-Rmaila space by lifeless letter, however he didn’t discover it, “mentioned the report.
Al-Akhbar defined, “The agent admitted that after the incident on October 7, his operators repeatedly insisted that he enter the occupied territory to obtain coaching on digital gear to be used in different missions. He additionally requested that he Utilizing a VPN when speaking with him by way of WhatsApp and activating airplane mode on his cellphone earlier than arriving on the mission’s goal location. In conversations found on the agent’s cellphone, the Israeli operator was shockingly desirous to be taught extra about checkpoints within the space. Probably the most correct particulars, similar to: location of the checkpoint, accountable occasion (inside safety, Lebanese Military, UNIFIL, Hezbollah), approximate variety of personnel, what questions will the checkpoint personnel ask if stopped? Will automobiles be stopped at checkpoints if they’re carrying members of the family, ladies or foreigners? Are folks within the space suspicious of strangers?
Mohamed additionally advised investigators that he “deleted messages he exchanged along with his employer on an electronic mail deal with offered to him by his employer, in addition to messages assigned to him by way of that deal with. He claimed that till he acquired the He solely turned conscious of Amir’s Israeli id after the second fee,” noting that he “continued contact as a result of he was in dire want of cash,” and claiming that he “didn’t present all info to his employer.” When the battle broke out he requested info,” the report mentioned.
The primary army investigative choose, Fadi Sawan, held that “defendant Mohammed’s actions of speaking with Israeli Mossad brokers and offering them with safety and army info in trade for cash constituted a felony beneath Article 278 of the Structure.” Prison Code It stipulates that the utmost penalty is non permanent arduous labor and three to fifteen years in jail.
