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| By: Israel Insider staff and partners |
| Published: January 7, 2006 |
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Israeli authorities have arrested an Israeli Arab on suspicion he tried to spy for Iran, his brother, an attorney, said Saturday.
Jiryis Jiryis, 57, a resident of the village of Fasouta in northern Israel, was arrested last month, said his brother, Sabri Jiryis, who is representing him. Although he has not been charged with any crimes, he is to remain in police custody and an indictment is expected, Sabri Jiryis said. He is a former PLO man allowed back into Israeli following the Oslo accords, and found a warm welcome in the party of Yossi Beilin, one of the Oslo accord's architects.
Sabri Jiryis denied the allegations.
The arrest was kept under wraps by the Israeli military censor until the Haaretz newspaper won a court order allowing publication, Sabri Jiryis said.
Authorities allege that Jiryis Jiryis was in contact with an Iranian agent during an April 2005 trip to Cyprus and instructed to join a political party in order to gain access to Israeli politicians, Sabri Jiryis said.
According to police sources quoted by Haaretz, Jirias joined Meretz-Yahad that at the end of 2004 through a political activist he knew. After joining the party, Jirias spoke to the political activist on a number of occasions, expressed interest in the possibility of serving as a Knesset member, and asked him to introduce him to MKs that visit Psuta.
Three months later, according to Haaretz, Jirias set out for Cyprus for the third time, at Abdullah's request, with the pretext for the trip being a meeting with businessmen that would fund the research center. During his stay in Cyprus, Abdullah introduced him to two Iranian agents who questioned him on his past and his political activism in Israel, and also questioned him on his ties to Israeli authorities, due to his having been a former council head.
After the meeting, Haaretz reported Jirias was told to initiate ties with top government officials.
Meretz-Yahad said in a statement that "Jirias Jirias is listed among the party's 22,000 members, but he is in no way active in the party or its institutions. The party trusts security authorities and the judicial system to carry out the investigation and justice in this serious affair."
Israel considers Iran its biggest threat, accusing Tehran of pursuing nuclear weapons. Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, has made a series of belligerent statements toward Israel recently, saying the Jewish state should be "wiped off the map" and saying he hopes the ailing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will die.
Jiryis Jiryis was a PLO activist in the 1970s, and lived in Beirut, Cyprus and London for 25 years, but was not involved in fighting Israel, Sabri Jiryis said. He returned to Israel in the mid-1990s after the Oslo peace accords between Israel and the Palestinians and later headed the town council in Fasouta, he added.
The AP contributed to this report. |
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