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Israeli Arab charged with spying for Hezbollah By Amos Harel Khaled Kashkush, 29, an Israeli Arab from the town of Kalansua, was indicted yesterday for spying for the Hezbollah. Kashkush has been studying medicine in Germany for the past few years, and was arrested on July 16 at Ben-Gurion Airport upon returning to Israel for a visit. The Shin Bet security service had asked for a gag order on the affair, which was partially lifted yesterday. Advertisement The indictment, filed in the Petah Tikva District Court, accuses Kashkush of meeting with Hezbollah operatives starting in 2002. The Shin Bet and prosecution said Kashkush caused no damage to the Israeli security, despite the seriousness of the charges. Kashkush, who studied at the University of Gottingen, had just completed his medical studies and was returning to Israel to start an internship. He allegedly met with Dr. Hashem Hassan, a Lebanese living in Germany who is the head of a charitable organization for Lebanese orphans, which is connected to the Hezbollah. The organization is connected with the Hezbollah's civilian activities in Lebanon, but also transfers funds to the families of suicide bombers. The Shin Bet believes that Hassan introduced Kashkush to a Lebanese Hezbollah handler, Mohammed Hashem - known to Kashkush as Rami - in December 2005 in Erfurt. A year later Hashem revealed himself to be acting for the Hezbollah. Hashem and Kashkush are believed to have maintained contact in the years since, and Kashkush is suspected of receiving a payment of 13,000 euros. The Shin Bet claims Hashem recruits intelligence sources for the Hezbollah, and passes on instructions and money while collecting information. The Shin Bet also revealed the name of another Hezbollah recruiter, Ayman Shahade, 41, a Palestinian born in Hebron who operates abroad. Revealing the names - and pictures - of the two by the Shin Bet is quite exceptional. The step seems to be aimed at the Hezbollah to tell them their agents have been "burned," and to also deter other Israeli Arabs who may have been in contact with the two. Authorities accuse Kashkush of supplying Hezbollah with information on Israel in general, and on other Arab Israelis studying abroad who would be willing to provide the Shi'ite group with intelligence. Kashkush is said to have applied for a job at a hospital where he could also get his hands on sensitive information on Israeli security personnel. Hezbollah operatives are believed to have instructed Kashkush on ways to avoid detection by authorities. In recent years, Hezbollah and Iran have boosted their efforts in enlisting Israeli Arabs and residents of the West Bank as agents for purposes of gathering intelligence, or even to carry out terrorist attacks in Israel. In a number of cases, Hezbollah has tried to recruit politicians. In April 2007, former MK Azmi Bishara (Balad) fled Israel after the Shin Bet suspected him of assisting Hezbollah. Earlier this year, an Israel Defense Forces tracker was accused of divulging military intelligence to Hezbollah in order to facilitate the smuggling of illicit drugs from Lebanon into Israel. The Shin Bet describes Israeli Arabs as "an attractive target for recruitment" by the Hezbollah, since they have no restrictions whatsoever on their freedom of movement, and are able to collect intelligence information relatively easily on security establishments, traffic arteries and Israeli cities. The Kashkush family initially refused all requests from both Arab and Israeli media, and family members also threw out a number of reporters and photographers from a coffee house owned by Kashkush's father in the center of Kalansua. His family later denied all the accusations against Kashkush, saying his arrest was part of the security services' persecution of Arab youths. "We believe in Khaled's innocence, and one of the officers who investigated him even said he caused no harm to the country's security," said his uncle, Dr. Thabet Abu Ras, a lecturer at Ben-Gurion University. Kashkush's lawyer, Amnon Zichroni, told Haaretz that despite his client's meetings with people connected to Hezbollah, Kashkush according to the charges did not provide them with any information that might harm Israeli security. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Staying out Rice on possible IDF Iran strike: U.S. has no veto over Israeli military operations. Ganei Tallywood Hamas transforms former Gaza settlement into movie lot.

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