Naharnet - Two Israeli Arabs accused of spying for Hizbullah, May 11, 2010

Tel Aviv Arrests 2 Israeli Arabs on Suspicion of 'Spying for Hizbullah'
Two Israeli Arabs, one a well-known human rights activist, have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Lebanon's Hizbullah, Israeli police said on Monday.
One man was arrested on April 24 and the other on May 6, but details of the arrests were subject to a gagging order which was lifted only on Monday.
"Two Israeli Arabs were arrested for espionage and having contact with an enemy agent from Hizbullah," Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told Agence France Presse, identifying the two as Omar Saeed and Amir Makhoul.
Makhoul, whose brother Issa is a former Israeli Arab lawmaker, heads Ittijah (the Union of Arab Community-Based Associations), a group based in the northern port city of Haifa that fights discrimination against Israeli Arabs.
Makhoul's arrest caused a stir among Israel's Arab minority who have organized several demonstrations against his detention, one of which is due to take place in Haifa later on Monday.
Because of a court gagging order, however, details of the arrests could not be reported in the press, meaning that although the media could cover the protests, they could not explain why they were taking place.
Several Arab rights groups -- in Israel and abroad -- have signed a petition calling for Makhoul's release, claiming that his arrest was part of a sustained Israeli campaign against Arab rights groups.
"In addition to arbitrary arrests and detentions, Israeli authorities have met Palestinian human rights activism in recent months with a variety of measures including raids, deportations, travel bans, visa denials and media attacks," the petition said.
Israel's 1.5 million Arab citizens are the descendants of Palestinians who remained in the Jewish state after the 1948 Middle East war that followed its creation.(AFP)


Beirut, Updated 11 May 10, 08:28


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