Police reportedly forming new unit to tackle Iran spying
The Israel Police will reportedly set up a new unit to handle cases involving Israelis spying for Iran after suspects in a recent case allegedly plotted to harm a senior Israeli figure in exchange for thousands of dollars.
The unit is being created with the Shin Bet, as officials concluded these cases “won’t go away” and that most suspects are driven by money rather than ideology, Channel 13 reported Friday. It will sit under the Lahav 433 major crimes unit and handle both investigations and suspect tracking, replacing the current system where different police units respond to Shin Bet tips.
Over the past two years, police have arrested more than 50 suspected Iranian spies in about 38 publicly known cases. On Thursday, after a gag order was lifted, police announced planned indictments against four suspects accused of making explosives at an Iranian agent’s request as part of a plot to “harm a senior figure,” widely reported to be former prime minister Naftali Bennett. The case, revealed during the US-Israeli war with Iran, was described as a rare example of Iranian recruitment pushing Israelis beyond espionage or vandalism toward planning violence.
Authorities say most recruits reject Iranian requests to assassinate public figures, though there have been exceptions, including two young Jewish men from Tiberias allegedly preparing to travel to Iran for training, and seven young men from Beit Safafa in East Jerusalem accused of planning to kill a senior scientist and a city mayor.
The rise in such cases has also led Israel to open a new wing in Damon Prison in Haifa for those charged with espionage.
Only one suspect has been convicted so far, with most cases still moving through the courts.
