Two 17-year-old Israeli Arabs were sentenced in Beersheba District Court today to six years’ imprisonment each on charges of espionage. The youths told the court that they were persuaded to cross over into the Gaza Strip by listening to Egyptian radio broadcasts which described Gaza as a “paradise.” When they got there, they said, they were detained by Egyptian intelligence officers who interrogated them on various subjects such as the Israel water pipeline project and information on military installations.
The prisoners said that they were then recruited into the Egyptian intelligence service and sent back to Israel accompanied by armed Fedayin (Arab guerillas.) They were handed over to Israeli police by their own families.
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