Northern Resident Charged with Spying for Iran Fueled by Gaza War Anger

Prosecutors have filed an indictment against Wissam Awad, a resident of Mazra'a in his 50s, for espionage activities on behalf of Iran. Awad is accused of offering his services as a spy to Iran last summer, motivated by anger over the war in Gaza. He allegedly provided the Iranian intelligence service with information and visual documentation.

The indictment, submitted to the Haifa District Court, charges Awad with conveying information to an enemy with the intent to harm state security and with contacting a foreign agent. Prosecutors are seeking his detention until the conclusion of legal proceedings.

According to the indictment, Awad's desire for revenge against Israel for the war, which he perceived as "indiscriminate destruction of civilians," led him to search Telegram in July or early August for groups associated with Iranian intelligence. He offered to photograph locations in Israel for payment. After contact was established, he began receiving assignments from his handlers.

Awad allegedly transmitted photographs of a medical factory in Nahariya that produces medical equipment, and of a city square. He also sent his location while near the Zar'it military post and provided information on military vehicle movements. In two instances, Awad acted on his own initiative, sending documentation of the road leading to the Shfeya camp, headquarters of the Golani Brigade, as well as of the Nahariya police station and the missile defense array positioned above it.

His contact with Iranian intelligence continued until his arrest about a month ago. The Haifa District Prosecutor's Office stated in their detention request that Awad "approached an enemy state on his own initiative, offered his services, and carried out missions for an enemy state." They emphasized that his "serious actions were carried out out of ideological motive and out of the defendant's anger over the actions of the State of Israel in the Gaza Strip."

In contrast to Awad's alleged ideological motivations, the newspaper Haaretz noted that most of the dozens of indictments filed in the past two years against civilians for carrying out missions for Iran were driven by financial gain and indifference to potential consequences, rather than ideology. Many of these defendants lacked access to significant state secrets, and the information they provided was often superficial, such as publicly available photos or news reports, exchanged for a few hundred dollars.