Arab Israelis Arrested over Alleged Contact with Hizbullah

The Shin Bet security service has announced the arrest of a number of Israeli Arabs suspected of contacting Hizbullah in an alleged attempt by the party to carry out attacks in the Jewish State, Israeli media reported.

Four men were arrested in Israel for having direct contact with Hizbullah, the Shin Bet said in a statement on Thursday.

During their questioning, the Shin Bet said it discovered their connection to George Nimar, an alleged Hizbullah operative from the southern town of Marjayoun.

Nimar allegedly deals with communications and weapons transport for the organization and he apparently planned to start smuggling weapons, in addition to the drugs, into Israel, said the statement.

Nimar “clearly intended to transfer weapons into Israel,” the security agency stated.

It stressed that the four suspects “were to be used by Hizbullah to promote terror activities in Israel.”

In the course of the investigation, Israeli police arrested and questioned another 12 Israeli drug dealers, the security agency reported.

The probe yielded intelligence information that broadened the picture with regard to the dealers’ network of contacts with Hizbullah, it said.

G.K.

H.K.