Israeli police said on Monday they had arrested eight people, including two Israelis, on suspicion of passing intelligence to Lebanon’s Hizbollah guerrillas in exchange for drugs and firearms.
Six of the suspects come from Ghajar, an Arab village half inside Lebanon and half inside territory that Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war. The other suspects are an Israeli man and woman from Kiryat Shmona, a town in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon. All eight were indicted this week on charges that included trafficking in 220 lbs. of hashish, illegal gun possession, contacts with enemy agents and spying, a police spokesman said. More indictments were expected, he said. Hizbollah has controlled southern Lebanon since hastening the end of a 22-year Israeli occupation in May 2000. The Shi’ite Muslim group remains hostile to Israel and Israeli authorities have arrested several people on suspicion of spying for it. Full Story