A dual Israeli-American citizen was arrested this month on suspicion of spying on ex-IDF chief Herzi Halevi and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, police and Shin Bet announced Thursday.
The suspect, 49-year-old Yaakov Perel, apparently harbored a deep antipathy toward Zionism and had been living in Morocco for the past several years.
In 2017, he sought asylum in Iran for himself and his family but received no response from Tehran, police said.
Perel, for the past two years, had been writing articles against Zionism and publishing them on Iranian Telegram app channels. He attracted the attention of an Iranian intelligence agent after publishing a piece in the wake of slain Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s funeral. Israel killed Nasrallah, along with other Hezbollah leaders, during a war last year that was instigated by the Iran-backed terror group.
At the Iranian agent’s behest, Perel renewed his Israeli passport and relocated to the country in July this year, where he allegedly began collecting intelligence on public figures, including Halevi and Ben Gvir, which he passed on to his Iranian handlers.
He also took photos and videos of streets and other locations in Israel, police add.
Like most other Israelis recruited by Iranian operators, Perel was compensated in cryptocurrency for the missions he carried out on Tehran’s behalf.
The Kan public broadcaster reported, without citing sources, that Perel is a member of the Satmar Hasidic sect and that he was paid about $15,000 for his activities, which continued for six weeks after he returned to Israel in July.
Police claim Perel was driven by “his ideological belief that action must be taken against the State of Israel and Zionism.”
The Satmar, one of the largest Hasidic groups in the world, is staunchly anti-Zionist and does not recognize the State of Israel, maintaining that a Jewish state should not exist until the Messiah appears.
An indictment is expected to be filed against Perel in the Tel Aviv District Court in the coming days.
Perel is one of dozens of Israeli citizens who have been arrested and charged with spying for the Islamic Republic.
Last week, the Jerusalem District Court on Sunday convicted Elimelech Stern, a 22-year-old ultra-Orthodox yeshiva student from Beit Shemesh, of spying for Iran.
Dozens of cases have come to light over the past two years in which Iranian agents have successfully recruited Israelis into espionage schemes via social media, specifically the Telegram messaging app. Most of the accused spies start out with innocuous tasks that gradually grow into more serious offenses, like intelligence gathering and assassination plots.
The growing number of Iranian agents has even prompted Israel to open up a new wing for them in Haifa’s Damon prison.
The unlikely operatives, from diverse walks of life, are usually ordinary civilians contacted by Iranian intelligence officers online. The effort appears to be part of a mass recruitment scheme by Tehran to gather intelligence on Israel’s alleged nuclear and military sites, as well as key Israeli figures such as defense officials and top scientists.