Israel arrests Syrian for ‘spying’ for Hezbollah

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli forces detained a Syrian national for plotting to gather intelligence information, according to the military on Monday.

A military statement said Ghaith Abdullah was arrested on January 27 along with another person after crossing into Israel from the southern Golan Heights.

The statement accused Abdullah of gathering intelligence information for the Lebanese group Hezbollah.

The statement, however, did not reveal the fate of the other arrested man.

There was no comment from Syrian authorities or Hezbollah on the report.

Last month, Israeli army forces killed a Syrian national and injured another for allegedly approaching a border fence between Israel and Syria.

The Golan Heights is a Syrian territory occupied by Israel in 1967. Tel Aviv announced the annexation of the Heights in 1981, in a move rejected by the international community.

In 2019, former US President Donald Trump recognized Israel's sovereignty over the Syrian Golan Heights.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara