Yehuda Bachar, 33, a resident of Eilat, owner of a yacht which he used to anchor in the Gulf of Akaba, was arrested here by Israeli security officers on suspicion of having passed secret information to Egyptian agents in Ethiopia.
Bachar is owner of the yacht “Calypso” which he sailed a year ago from Eilat to Asmara, Eritrea. According to the security officers, he had to abandon his ship at Asmara when his Israeli crew abandoned ship, and port authorities confiscated the “Calypso” for nonpayment of port fees.
Early this year, it is charged, Bachar went to Asmara again, presumably in an effort to regain his yacht. He allegedly went on to Ethiopia, met an Egyptian military attache and sold “some information” to the Egyptian. Security authorities said today Bachar admitted selling material to the Egyptian, but claimed it was “false information.”
The security officers say that Bachar was picked up last month when he returned to Eilat and bought gifts, “with money received from the Egyptian,” for his wife and three children.
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