Israeli spy suspect charged with stalking Gantz’s home and arson

A resident of the central city of Petah Tikva was arrested on Monday for carrying out missions on behalf of "foreign elements," according to the Shin Bet security agency and police. This marks the latest in a series of plots involving civilians allegedly recruited by Iran, which security agencies claim to have thwarted in recent months, News.az reports citing The Times of Israel.

Alexander Granovsky, 29, was detained over suspicions he was “committing security offenses after he was suspected of being involved in several vehicle arsons on behalf of foreign elements,” the Shin Bet and police said.

According to the investigation, Granovsky has been in contact with “terror elements” from abroad since November, and carried out “a large number of different security tasks for them” for monetary gain.

The Shin Bet said Granovsky had known that the tasks had the “potential to harm national security.”

The agency did not explicitly say that Iran was behind the plot, but the tasks bore similarities to previous alleged Iranian attempts.

The tasks that Granovsky carried out, according to the Shin Bet, included setting fire to eight vehicles across Israel, as well as graffitiing “Children of Ruhollah” — referring to Ruhollah Khomeini, the first supreme leader of the Islamic Republic — on one of the cars.

He also allegedly photographed a state-owned facility in central Israel, took a photo of the entrance to the neighborhood where former defense minister MK Benny Gantz resides, and sent the latter image to his handlers.

Granovsky is also accused of sending his handlers information about an Israeli civilian for the purpose of examining his recruitment for various tasks, purchasing military fatigues for a video in which he would be seen burning them, and more.

An indictment was set to be filed against Granovsky within a few days.

The incident marks at least the 13th alleged Iranian espionage plot revealed by Israeli authorities in recent months.

Israel is currently battling Iran-backed Hamas in the Gaza Strip in a war started by the Palestinian terror group on October 7, 2023, when it led a massive cross-border attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251 people to Gaza.

Iran-backed proxies in Iraq and Yemen have fired drones and missiles at Israel in support of Gaza. Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group also began attacking Israel the day after the Hamas assault in a conflict that spiraled into open war during which Israel battered Hezbollah, forcing a ceasefire last month.

Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah are all avowed to destroy Israel.

Since September, Israeli authorities have announced arrests in many cases involving individuals or cells suspected of spying or plotting attacks on behalf of Iran. In some, Tehran tried to trick Israelis online into carrying out missions on its behalf. In other cases, individuals are alleged to have knowingly operated on its behalf for money.

News.Az