Israeli Arab sentenced for spying for Hezbollah
JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli court has sentenced an Arab citizen of Israel to seven years in prison for spying for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
A court document says Milad Khatib was convicted of being in contact with a foreign agent and assisting an enemy in wartime. It says he confessed to the charges against him as part of a plea bargain.
Khatib was accused of gathering intelligence on the security detail for Israel’s president and on army installations. The 26-year-old is said to have been recruited by a Hezbollah operative in Denmark in 2009.
The Haifa court decision was handed down on Tuesday.
Israel and Hezbollah are bitter enemies. The two fought an inconclusive, monthlong war in 2006, which was sparked when Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid.