An Israeli Arrested for Acting as an Agent of the Islamic Republic in Jerusalem

Israeli police and the internal security service "Shin Bet" reported that last month, a 23-year-old Israeli civilian residing in Jerusalem was arrested for carrying out a mission on behalf of the Islamic Republic and planning a terrorist attack. According to Shin Bet, Arlder Israel Amoyal was detained in November on charges of "committing security crimes related to contact with intelligence officials of the Iranian regime and conducting security missions in Israel under their guidance for financial gain." Investigations revealed that Amoyal had been in contact with Iranian intelligence agents via social media since October. Initially, he communicated with an account named "Ariana" but later came under the supervision of another account called "John." Based on the investigations, Amoyal was aware that "John" was an Iranian agent but agreed to conduct surveillance missions, take photographs of various addresses, or create graffiti on walls. Shin Bet stated that Amoyal photographed paper slogans such as "Establishing Peace" in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, wrote words like "Sinwar" on walls in Tel Aviv, and took pictures of several houses and streets in Netanya and Jerusalem. According to the agency, he also purchased an advanced "GoPro" camera to film his actions and sent the images to his supervisor. Additionally, Amoyal reportedly searched social media for purchasing a firearm and a silencer along with materials to build a bomb. Shin Bet indicated that he watched instructional videos on how to create an explosive device to carry out a terrorist attack in Israel. The agency also noted that Amoyal attempted to recruit others to carry out missions for the Islamic Republic, particularly individuals with criminal backgrounds. According to Shin Bet, he received cryptocurrency as a reward for his actions. An indictment against Amoyal is expected to be issued in the coming days. In recent months, Israeli security services have arrested several Israeli citizens on suspicion of collaborating with the Islamic Republic. The "Jerusalem Post" reported on November 1 regarding the arrest of seven individuals in Israel on charges of espionage and conducting hundreds of missions for the Iranian government in eastern Jerusalem, stating that they intended to assassinate a senior Israeli nuclear scientist in exchange for 200,000 new Israeli shekels. The detainees are accused of photographing and gathering information about Israeli military bases, including the "Negev" and "Ramat" air bases and the Golani Brigade base, where four soldiers were killed in a Hezbollah drone attack, as well as the locations of Iron Dome artillery systems. Prosecutors, citing findings from the police and Shin Bet, say that the defendants performed various tasks for Iranian intelligence organizations and were in contact with Iranian government agents. The defendants received hundreds of thousands of dollars for their assigned tasks, part of which was in cryptocurrency. According to this report, some of the defendants had been spying for the Iranian government for two years, and all of them had been agents of the Islamic Republic since the onset of the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023. Source: Times of Israel, Win News, Voice of America.