Newspaper publishes names of suspected Israeli spy ring members

As-Safir

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
A Lebanese newspaper has published the names of 22 Arabs arrested in conjunction with the Al-Alam spy ring affair, which intelNews has been monitoring since February, when it first erupted. The catalogue, aired by As-Safir newspaper, contains the arrestees’ address and employment details, and includes photographs of three of the suspects. Over 70 individuals have so far been arrested in connection with the Al-Alam spy ring, which Lebanese authorities allege was operated by Israel and operated predominantly in southern Lebanon. Detained suspects include two Palestinians, one Egyptian, and at least 37 Lebanese citizens, one of whom was a retired brigadier. In early July, another suspect, a Lebanese army colonel, reportedly managed to avoid arrest by escaping to Israel. As-Safir said that the spy ring’s activities intensified after the failed Israeli incursion into Lebanon in 2006. The paper also claimed that a number of Israeli handlers guided and monitored the ring’s activities through visits to Lebanon, Palestine, and various European capitals.