Seven Israeli Arabs were arrested recently on suspicion of planning terrorist acts and espionage, a Haifa magistrates court disclosed Sunday.
The group is alleged to be associated with Ahmed Jabril’s extremist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command.
The court limited the information given to the news media, and not all of the suspects were identified.
They include a Nazareth couple, Bassam and Yusra Mahazumi, who are the parents of five children. Electronics equipment was seized at their home.
Bassam Mahazumi was arrested at Ben-Gurion Airport earlier this month. He had just arrived from Europe, where he allegedly had been in contact with his spy handlers.
Mahazumi reportedly confessed he worked for a terrorist organization for more than a year. His wife was arrested for membership in the organization.
Another suspect in custody is Mohammad Abu-Tir of Jerusalem. He was one of more than 1,000 security prisoners released by Israel in a controversial exchange deal with Jabril’s organization three years ago.
The three others in custody were described as members of the extreme Islamic fundamentalist organization Hamas.
The court also announced Sunday the arrest and indictment of an Israeli Jew, Binyamin Shenkman, on security charges.
He allegedly gave the Palestine Liberation Organization details of his military service during a visit to Athens, for which he reportedly asked $1.5 million.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
