Lebanon Dismantles 15+ ‘Israeli’ Spy Networks in Massive Operation - Report

By Staff, Agencies

The Lebanese security forces dismantled more than 15 ‘Israeli’ spy networks over the past few weeks, according to a report, marking one of the largest security operations in the Arab country since 2009.

Lebanon’s al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Monday that the Information Branch, the intelligence unit of the internal security forces, has “dismantled over 15 ‘Israeli’ spy networks separated from each other,” which operated on Lebanese territories as well as in Syria.

According to the report, the operation, which was launched four weeks ago, is one of the largest security operations that have been carried out since 2009 when the ‘Israeli’ Mossad’s spy networks collapsed one by one.

Despite the high number of suspects, the newspaper said, the officers of the Information Branch are trying to keep the operation under wraps by claiming that the detainees were held over fraud and drug offenses.

According to al-Akhbar, dozens of suspects were involved in the spy networks and “directly or indirectly and with or without prior knowledge” provided ‘Israel’ with information on its targets, including the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah and the Palestinian resistance forces in Lebanon, especially the Hamas movement.

The investigations also found that the spy network had also penetrated into the Information Branch itself and got very close to its leadership.

The crackdown also saw a Syrian suspect arrested. The Damascus-based suspect admitted that he was monitoring civilian, military, and commercial sites and was sending maps from within the Syrian capital, but said that he was not aware of the goal behind collecting such information.

Syria and the ‘Israeli’ regime are technically at war due to the latter’s 1967-present occupation of the Arab country’s Golan Heights. The ‘Israeli’ regime maintains a significant military presence in the territory, which it uses as a launchpad for its attacks on Syrian soil.

Al-Akhbar said the number of those interrogated over the past month exceeded 35. The arrestees included Lebanese, Palestinian, and Syrian people.

The investigations showed that 12 of the detainees were aware that they were working with ‘Israel’, while the rest assumed they were working for international institutions or NGOs.

The report said the Information Branch is expected to provide the competent judicial authorities with investigation records in the coming hours as a prelude to the referral of the detainees to the military court.

The ‘Israeli’ regime launched two wars on Lebanon in 2000 and 2006, which both saw Hezbollah inflicting heavy losses on the regime’s military.

The Zionist regime’s spy drones have been violating Lebanese airspace on an almost daily basis.

Beirut has filed several complaints with the UN against ‘Israeli’ violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty by land, sea, and air in defiance of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which brokered a ceasefire in the Zionist regime’s 2006 war and calls on Tel Aviv to respect Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity.