Israel convicts cleaner of trying to spy for Iran

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - An Israeli court on Tuesday sentenced a cleaner at the house of Defense Minister Benny Gantz to three years in prison for trying to pass information to Iran.

In a statement, the Israeli Justice Ministry said the Lod District Court convicted Omri Goren Gorochovsky, 37, for attempting to reach a hacking group linked to Iran to pass information in exchange for payment.

An indictment was filed against Gorochovsky after an agreement was reached with him.

According to the statement, the cleaner contacted a hacking group via the Telegram application under a false identity and told them he works for the defense minister.

This was not the first case or spy attempt on Gantz. In March 2019, the Israeli domestic intelligence Shin Bet told the defense minister that his phone was hacked by a group hostile to Israel and all information on the phone was compromised.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara