Spy Sentenced to 4.5 Years for Filming Near Ex-Defense Minister Gallant's Home

The Haifa District Court has sentenced Fares Abu Al-Hija to 55 months in prison for contacting a foreign agent and carrying out espionage missions for Iran. The sentence, handed down on Tuesday, also includes 24 months of suspended prison time and a NIS 10,000 fine.

Abu Al-Hija admitted to carrying out six tasks over three months, despite suspecting his handler, who identified himself as "Martin Luther," was a foreign agent. His contact began in October 2025 via a Telegram group. His missions involved acquiring explosives and cell phones, installing messaging apps, and hiding them in Haifa and Kiryat Haim, documenting locations, and sending videos and photos to his handler in exchange for cryptocurrency payments.

He was also tasked with leaving an envelope containing crypto access codes, a message in English, and NIS 50 in Zichron Yaakov. Additionally, he photographed the area around the "Cafe Noir" in Tel Aviv. In his final mission in January of this year, he was instructed to photograph four locations in Amikam, near the home of former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. He was arrested shortly after submitting these photos.

The prosecution had sought a sentence of five to eight years, citing the mercenary motives, the wartime period, and the high potential for damage. The defense argued the acts were not of the highest severity, that Abu Al-Hija was unaware of the connection to Gallant at the Amikam location, and that he lacked ideological motivation. The court president noted the planned and continuous nature of the acts, the high potential for damage due to intelligence gathering aimed at harming national security, and that Abu Al-Hija received approximately $3,600 in total. The court also considered his confession, remorse, clean criminal record, and his parents' medical condition.