• Published 17:32 02.03.10
  • Latest update 17:35 02.03.10

Lebanon: We nabbed man linked to alleged Mossad Hezbollah hit

Michel Abdo says aided assassination of Hezbollah commander in 2004; Israel has not commented on the arrest.

By Reuters Tags: Hezbollah Israel Mossad Lebanon Israel news

A Lebanese arrested on suspicion of spying for Israel has confessed to have helped in the assassination of a Hezbollah commander in 2004, a senior security source said on Tuesday.

The source said Michel Abdo was arrested three weeks ago and is considered "a very important spy". He will be tried before a military court.

"His role was to facilitate the movement of the Israeli Mossad agents who carried out the assassination," the source told Reuters.

"He picked them up from a point near the sea south of Beirut and took them to his house where they planed the assassination he then facilitated their departure," the source said.

Israel, which fought a 34-day war with Hezbollah in 2006 has not commented on the arrests.

Ghalib Awali, a Hezbollah military commander, was killed by a bomb in the southern suburbs of Beirut in 2004 as he got into his car. Abdo is the second suspect to be tied to his killing.

Israel assassinated the group's leader Abbas al-Mussawi in 1992 in an air strike on his car. Lebanon has tried and convicted several people in recent years of spying on and plotting against the group.

A probe into spying for Israel has led to more than 50 arrests since April. More than 20 have been formally charged.

Lebanon, which is in a state of war with Israel, has described the arrests as a blow to Israel's intelligence-gathering in the country. Hezbollah has called for the death penalty for all suspects convicted.

Lebanese courts have handed down what were widely seen as light sentences against Lebanese who have worked with the Israeli occupation and its local militias after Israeli forces ended a 22-year occupation of mainly Shi'ite south Lebanon in May 2000.

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  • 7. 0 0
    relations...
    • wounded
    • 03.03.10
    • 08:55

    ?Lebanon, which is in a state of war with Israel?? ?Lebanon was the first Arab league nation to signal a desire for an armistice treaty with Israel in 1949? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel%E2%80%93Lebanon_relations

  • 6. 0 0
    #1 &2, a really stupid headline
    • VIPER
    • 03.03.10
    • 01:51

    israel prays on the poor, one lebanese moron got caught because he flaunted his wealth which was paid for by israel, under suspicion he tried to flee, only to be caught and a huge cache of spy equipment siezed, many more will be caught, this has nothing to do with lebs hating hezbollah but more to do with greed, and greed will lead to their apprehension, or are you to blinded and stupid to work that out?.

  • 5. 0 0
    Lebanon: Mossad's man in Lebanon
    • Ghassan Tafla
    • 03.03.10
    • 01:50

    Israel should know by now that most of the Lebanese people are on the side of Hezbollah. Hezbollah members and Leaders are the most modest of the lebanese people. They are the ones that experienced the ugly Israeli occupation when they were children in South Lebanon. They are the farmers, teachers, doctors, engineers, labors and ets. Lebanese courts must sentence any convicted spy to death in order to send a clear message to others not to work for Israel.

  • 4. 0 0
    Israel to be blamed for Hezbollah existance.
    • Peter
    • 03.03.10
    • 00:06

    If it were not for israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982 (Sabra & Shatila famous massacre) as portrayed by the film Bashir so no. israel's overstay in the south of Lebanon where the majority of residents are Shua Muslims living in peace, mostly farming their land. Israel's ruthless occupation and its heavy hand treatement of the locals, was the reason Hizbollah was formed as a guerilla fighting the the occupation and forced israel to retreat in a hurry after heavy losses, leaving behind their armors and amunition dumps. This is how Hizbollah was born , thanks to Sharon and co. Of course as they liberated their country israel worked so hard convincing the U.S, to label them as Terrorists.Now Lebanon is infested with Mossad agents and local spies for israel. What a good neighbor.

  • 3. 0 0
    Not all Lebanese love Hezbollah
    • Samuel
    • 02.03.10
    • 22:08

    Yet definitely most of the Lebanese do :) haha

  • 2. 0 0
    Arnold #1 'not all Lebanese love Hezbollah'
    • Colin Wright
    • 02.03.10
    • 21:34

    The thing is, they've learned to love Israel even less. And to some extent, it is a choice. You guys never seem to quite figure out that with every military 'triumph' after 1973, you've only dug your own grave deeper.

  • 1. 0 0
    Seems not all Lebanese love Hezbollah
    • Arnold
    • 02.03.10
    • 17:53

    Nothing more needs to be said.