At the request of Israel Hayom, a Magistrate's Court in Ashkelon authorized the publication on Sunday evening of additional details in the serious security case first exposed by Israel Hayom, which is currently under investigation by the Shin Bet and the International Crime Investigations Unit. The newly cleared details reveal that the suspects acted at the request of Iranian operatives to manufacture explosives, and even conducted experiments on the materials they produced.
The investigation is being conducted jointly by the Shin Bet and the International Crime Investigations Unit. Security officials described the case as a serious escalation in Iranian espionage activity – particularly given that the events occurred in recent weeks, in the midst of the intensifying war against Iran.
The court authorized publication of the following statement: "The International Crime Investigations Unit is conducting an investigation with security dimensions involving several suspects who are alleged to have provided various services to Iranian operatives. As part of the investigation, suspicion has arisen that the suspects acted at the request of those Iranian operatives to manufacture explosive materials, and even conducted experiments on the materials they produced."
The court effectively accepted Israel Hayom's position. After weighing the arguments of both sides and balancing the principle of open proceedings and the public interest against the potential harm to state security posed by publication, it decided to partially grant the petition – in the sense that the identities of the suspects and the specific details of the investigation would remain classified, but that information about the nature of the investigation would be cleared for publication.
As noted, the serious security case was first exposed by Israel Hayom after the court granted the paper's earlier petition to lift the sweeping gag order imposed on all details of the case, including its very existence.
Roughly two months ago, Israel Hayom reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered the initiation of citizenship revocation proceedings against individuals convicted of spying for Iran – an unprecedented step, applied even to Jewish citizens.
About a week ago, Netanyahu said in closed conversations that Israeli citizens who collaborated with Iran must be confronted with the full force of the law and every available measure – especially during an existential war – and stressed that the phenomenon was extraordinarily serious. Israel Hayom reported that those remarks were already being translated into action and that the matter has, in recent days, been placed in the hands of the Shin Bet, which has begun pursuing citizenship revocation proceedings against convicted spies.
According to data that has been compiled, more than forty indictments have been filed in the two years since the war began against more than sixty defendants who were recruited by Iranian operatives.
