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Official insists Israeli arrested in Beirut wasn't working for gov't
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent and News Agencies

Israel said on Sunday that an Israeli man who has been arrested in Lebanon is not a spy, and his father said the young man converted to Islam several years ago and immersed himself in Arab culture.

Lebanese officials announced the arrest of Daniel Sharon on Saturday and said they had handed him over for military interrogation because he visited Lebanon frequently.

A government official insisted Sunday that Sharon was not working with Israeli authorities in any role. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive diplomatic nature of the case.

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Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz told Israel Radio Sunday that "Sharon had entered Lebanon on his own accord and in doing so had crossed the line," apparently referring to the ban on Israelis visiting countries with which Israel does not have diplomatic relations.

The incident has threatened to inflame tensions between the enemy states.

Sharon, who is in his early 30s, has Israeli and German citizenship and entered Lebanon on his German passport.

In an interview with the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot 11 years ago, Sharon told of how he traveled the Arab world, including Lebanon, and felt it was the most beautiful country in the world.

"I really love Arab culture, I really love Arabs and so why not live among them," Sharon said in the newspaper, which showed a picture of him wearing an Arab keffiyeh around his neck.

Sharon also told of how he decided to convert to Islam in 1994 after reading the Quran, the Muslim holy book.

"To a certain extent I feel I don't have any connection to Judaism, I'm Muslim," Sharon said.

On Sunday, his father, Moshe Sharon, told Israel's Army Radio that his son had only good intentions.

He told of a man who, in searching for his identity, had converted to Islam several years ago and was the first Israeli to study in Jordan after a peace treaty was signed between the countries in 1994.

When asked if Daniel was an Israeli spy, Moshe Sharon - whose family owns a Nahariya retirement home that burned down on Sunday in an unrelated incident - said "No, no, there is no chance. This boy doesn't even smoke, he doesn't drink, he's not a criminal."

"Daniel was childish and it's possible that he could get mixed up with the wrong people and didn't know what he was getting into," Sharon said. He also said that he learned about the matter through the press on Saturday.

According to Lebanese publication Al-Akhbar Wa-Sapir, Sharon was arrested on Thursday as part of an investigation into the murder of a Lebanese citizen. During questioning, it emerged that Sharon had visited Lebanon 11 times on his German passport over the last two years. He denied allegations that he was on an espionage mission and said he was in Lebanon for leisure purposes, according to the source.

Media reports said that police in the Merje area, a hotbed of the Lebanese Shi'ite Hezbollah movement in Beirut's southern suburbs, were investigating the killing of Moussa al-Shalaani when the probe led them to Sharon.

Al-Shalaani had been shot with a gun belonging to a security officer who had been his roommate. The roommate was summoned for questioning, and maintained he had lost his gun. The roommate also said that at the time of the murder, he had been with a German friend, who was staying at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Beirut's luxurious Verdun neighborhood. A hotel employee told the police that Sharon had paid him not to write his full name on any documents.

"His conflicting testimonies led the authorities to arrest him, and further investigations are underway in a murder case and espionage," the judicial source said. "He is denying charges of espionage and insists that he is gay and likes to have sexual relations with Lebanese men and that is why his visits to Lebanon were frequent," the source said.

"But further investigations into the case showed that Sharon had a friend in the Lebanese security offices who used to facilitate his entries to Lebanon," the source added.

The Foreign Ministry told Sharon's father Saturday evening that authorities were dealing with the matter.

"We are feeling totally helpless because we are an enemy country and there is nothing I can do besides receive information about him and let the authorities deal with it," Sharon said, adding that he feared that his son could be held in Lebanon for years.

The Foreign Ministry said Sunday that it was looking into the matter but had no further comment.

The younger Sharon's mother has German citizenship, Moshe Sharon said, and the German authorities have told her they are looking into her son's case.

Sharon said he did not know his son was in Lebanon, but believed he was in Cyprus.

A Lebanese security agent was also held for questioning about his relations with Sharon after the two maintained contacts online, said officials.

Lebanon's General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza said investigations were underway into how the story was leaked.

During questioning, it emerged that Sharon is well-versed regarding Lebanon, and speaks Arabic well. According to reports, Sharon learned Arabic in the United Arab Emirates. The Lebanese media reported Sharon kept his cool during questioning and denied accusations that he was a spy.

The media also reported that Sharon had visited Lebanon 11 times since 2005, once immediately prior to the Second Lebanon War. His last visit began four days prior to his arrest, and he was scheduled to leave on the day of his arrest. Sharon had sent his security-officer friend on trips abroad on several occasions, and in exchange the man had helped Sharon within Lebanon.
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  1.   i have no doubt he was not spying 10:53  |  tourist 23/09/07
  2.   Daniel 10:54  |  Realistic 23/09/07
  3.   My son the spy 10:58  |  Big Al 23/09/07
  4.   The father would hardy say my son is a spy even he was 11:03  |  Petteri 23/09/07
  5.   What does the Israeli government say? 11:18  |  Natallie Durson 23/09/07
  6.   let the lebanese keep him 11:34  |  israeli 23/09/07
  7.   Well here is Kuntars key to freedom 11:48  |  Chris Linthwaite 23/09/07
  8.   To Israeli (# 2) 12:00  |  S 23/09/07
  9.   what`s wrong with you natalie ? 12:05  |  scanadu 23/09/07
  10.   May He Enjoy Moslem Hospitality 12:05  |  FOX 23/09/07
  11.   A Jewish convert to Islam deserves anything that happens to him.. 12:14  |  martyrmaker 23/09/07
  12.   pitiful character 12:16  |  Hilda 23/09/07
  13.   #1 petteri..just to be clear 12:21  |  sinalco 23/09/07
  14.   is this the new year spoof???? 12:36  |  victor hardman 23/09/07
  15.   martyrmaker 12:37  |  plainsilly 23/09/07
  16.   #7 hes being interrogated by head of army intell.`Christians" 12:40  |  sinalco 23/09/07
  17.   To No.6 13:06  |  Stella 23/09/07
  18.   Conflicting Reports by the Minute 13:09  |  Mary 23/09/07
  19.   Daniel Sharon : A spy or not?? 13:20  |  Joseph (Lebanese) 23/09/07
  20.   of course, he is from mosad and killed hariri 13:22  |  vladimir 23/09/07
  21.   He is Not a Spy 13:22  |  Mary 23/09/07
  22.   keys for kuntar freedom? unlikely, let lebanese 13:26  |  vladimir 23/09/07
  23.   A Hyper-Tourist, A Convert, an israeli "Lebanese" 13:27  |  NOTHING SUSS!! 23/09/07
  24.   I thought as a German 13:36  |  Chris Linthwate 23/09/07
  25.   sharon 13:44  |  J. B. 23/09/07
  26.   #11 martyrmaker #12 Hilda: a traitor? 13:49  |  Ben Alofs 23/09/07
  27.   No24 - you thought wrong 13:52  |  Mahona 23/09/07
  28.   Not working for government? 13:57  |  Clickfool 23/09/07
  29.   # 27 Mahona 14:06  |  Mary 23/09/07
  30.   Cut the Fuss, He will be released 14:07  |  Sky Hawk 23/09/07
  31.   German Citizen 14:08  |  Mary 23/09/07
  32.   outings 15:21  |  fances 23/09/07
  33.   chris linthwaite "this bloke is a spy" 15:27  |  amazing 23/09/07
  34.   Who needs spys, all you need is baksheesh! 15:31  |  Knowitall 23/09/07
  35.   Give Him to Nasrallah 15:31  |  JJ 23/09/07
  36.   ben alofs has been a groupie for the palestinians 15:33  |  kaffiyah 23/09/07
  37.   sharon....!!!!! 15:35  |  ravi 23/09/07
  38.   Daniel Sharon was no Spy....... 16:11  |  Dagma 23/09/07
  39.   to #35 JJ ..living in US hein?!I can see it from ure reasoning! 16:13  |  sinalco 23/09/07
  40.   # 26 Ben Alofs 16:14  |  martyrmaker 23/09/07
  41.   ravi and "sharon" 16:15  |  ram ram 23/09/07
  42.   #34 knowitall U funny man ! 16:26  |  sinalco 23/09/07
  43.   He is a 150% spy, and his mission is to locate the whereabouts of 16:35  |  True Lebanese 23/09/07
  44.   #28 the ludicrous yellow streak again 16:44  |  victor hardman 23/09/07
  45.   If he loves arabs, let him stay in Beirut, Amman of Jeddah 17:03  |  Rachelle 23/09/07
  46.   answerring ``true lebanese`` 17:08  |  Joseph (Lebanese) 23/09/07
  47.   Suleiman, Aoun, Hizbullah 17:21  |  Ethel 23/09/07
  48.   Father said HE IS NOT A CRIMINAL??? 17:30  |  Albert 23/09/07
  49.   for True Lebanese 17:31  |  Albert 23/09/07
  50.   For the 100th time 17:33  |  Ethel 23/09/07
  51.   A Gay Jewish Muslim Israeli German... 17:37  |  I.A. 23/09/07
  52.   Titus Andronicus 17:55  |  Ethel 23/09/07
  53.   reality often can be weirder then fiction, truth? well who knows 17:58  |  ralph 23/09/07
  54.   correction....ram ram ram 18:00  |  ravi 23/09/07
  55.   To ravi # 54 - When you are apparently unaware 19:03  |  Dagma 23/09/07
  56.   THE MIND BOGGLES... 19:10  |  SM 23/09/07
  57.   Ram Ram 20:34  |  Truths 23/09/07
  58.   punishment! 21:12  |  ruth 23/09/07
  59.   If true 21:21  |  Baz Mann 23/09/07
  60.   # 5 you have forgotten 21:23  |  Kris 23/09/07
  61.   Details missed by Haaretz 21:58  |  BamBoo 23/09/07
  62.   ravi "indian government has more then its share of idiots" 22:02  |  jaihind 23/09/07
  63.   A convert in Lebanon? nope 22:31  |  Rami 23/09/07
  64.   http://thejewsoflebanon.org 22:36  |  Rami 23/09/07
  65.   uphanag 23:42  |  Paul 23/09/07
  66.   Hope for the best 23:49  |  The Northern Wind 23/09/07
  67.   Channeling William of Occam 01:42  |  Mark Lincoln 24/09/07
  68.   This talkback is nonsense. 02:30  |  Fortuna Benmayor 24/09/07
  69.   Let see if German comes to the aid of its citizen 02:44  |  Jason 24/09/07
  70.   `Official insists Israeli arrested in Beirut wasn`t working for g 03:01  |  Colin Wright 24/09/07
  71.   Israel and Peace 04:05  |  Lebanese 24/09/07
  72.   Lebanese - when? 05:11  |  Mark Lincoln 24/09/07
  73.   you know 05:49  |  Rubio 24/09/07
  74.   This guy is without doubt a Mossad spy 07:57  |  Hannah 24/09/07
  75.   #35, JJ 09:38  |  Hannah 24/09/07
  76.   Daniel Sharon 11:34  |  zion segal 28/09/07
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