Officials disclosed here today that a center of espionage for Jordan had been uncovered in the Israeli Arab village of Um Elfahem near the Jordanian border. Three Arabs were detained, brought before a magistrate and held for future hearings. More arrests are expected, police said.
One of the detained Arabs was an Israeli police sergeant who served for some time in the Israeli border police. The former police sergeant and two other men were charged with maintaining contact with Jordanian intelligence agents, who gave them instructions and directions to supply material concerning Israeli installations of a “security character.”
It was indicated that the espionage activities of the Arabs was not confined to Um Elfahem and may have spread to other centers. The village is the largest Arab center in the Arab triangle in Israeli territory, and has influence over a large part of the Arab population.
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