Last update - 00:00 09/10/2006
Druze resident of Golan Heights arrested for praising Hezbollah while in Syria
By Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondent
Police on Monday arrested a Druze resident of the Golan Heights suspected of giving a speech in support of Hezbollah and its leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah during a visit he made to Syria.
Police say the 58-year-old Majdal Shams man is not a known political activist and has never before been suspected of security-related offenses.
Druze political activists on the Golan described the arrest as an attempt to frighten residents of the Heights from publicly expressing their political positions.
The commander of the Galilee region police's central unit, Superintendent Shmuel Boker, said the suspect, together with an organized group of Golan Druze, residents visited family in Syria in August.
On August 31, the man participated in a political conference which senior Syrian officials also attended.
In his speech at the conference, the suspect praised Hezbollah's anti-Israel positions and Nasrallah directly. He also said that, thanks to Nasrallah, hundreds of thousands of Israelis were living underground in bomb shelters. The suspect added "The liberation of Jerusalem" is coming soon.
The conference was broadcast via several satellite television channels, including Hezbollah's Al-Manar network. Clips of the conference were also broadcast on Israel's Channel 10 TV.
The man admitted delivering the speech in Syria.
On Tuesday, police will decide whether to seek an extension of his remand or to release him on bail.