![Israel must continue to be able to deter Hezbollah, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar stressed on Wednesday, speaking amid efforts to reach a ceasefire with Iran's Lebanese terrorist proxy. "We need to keep the freedom to act if there will be violations. And we will have to act in time, before the problem will grow," the minister told a gathering of nearly 100 foreign ambassadors in Jerusalem, the Times of Israel reported. A deal to end more than a year of fighting on the northern border must be durable, Sa'ar said, saying Jerusalem “would like to reach an agreement that will stand the test of time." He added that a ceasefire would be an "opportunity" for Lebanon to regain its sovereignty after the Israeli military severely degraded the Iranian-backed group in recent months. He called for the Lebanese Armed Forces to be strengthened and urged the international community to invest more in the economically devastated country, which is drowning in debt following years of mismanagement and corruption. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz also emphasized on Wednesday the necessity for Jerusalem to be able to act against any Hezbollah threats that may arise after a ceasefire deal is implemented. “The condition for any political settlement in Lebanon is the preservation of the intelligence capability and the preservation of the [IDF’s] right to act and protect the citizens of Israel from Hezbollah,” Katz said. Meanwhile, U.S. special envoy Amos Hochstein remained in Beirut for a second day on Wednesday to discuss "technical details" of an American ceasefire proposal with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who heads the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement. President Joe Biden's point man in the Land of the Cedars announced he would travel to Israel on Wednesday night, speaking after he made "additional progress" in a second meeting with Berri. Hochstein was scheduled to meet with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer shortly after his arrival, followed by a tête-à-tête with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the following day. “The meeting today built on the meeting yesterday, and made additional progress,” Hochstein said. “So I will travel from here in a couple hours to Israel to try to bring this to a close if we can.” The Biden envoy added that he will work with the incoming Trump administration on ceasefire efforts, saying that he has kept the president-elect's transition team informed of progress. Hochstein described as "very productive" his meetings with Lebanese officials on Tuesday. “We have a real opportunity to end the conflict, and now is the moment to decide. We are committed to doing everything we can to work with Lebanon and Israel to end this conflict,” Hochstein said at a press conference on Tuesday. Hochstein also met on Tuesday with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and he was scheduled to meet with Lebanese Armed Forces commander Gen. Joseph Aoun. Mikati emphasized that Lebanon’s primary objectives are achieving a ceasefire and safeguarding its sovereignty. He highlighted the need to implement international resolutions and bolster the Lebanese Armed Forces in the southern part of the country. Lebanon delivered its written response to the latest U.S. proposal on Monday. According to Ali Hassan Khalil, an aide to Berri, the response included “comments” that were “presented in a positive atmosphere.” He did not provide details on the nature of the comments, saying only that they “affirm the precise adherence to [U.N. Security Council] Resolution 1701 with all its provisions,” according to Reuters. Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said in a speech on Wednesday that the terrorist group had "read the ceasefire proposal. "We have our comments, and Nabih Berri has comments, and ours and the Lebanese government's comments are, Inshallah ['God willing'], identical," Qassem said. "We have decided not to discuss these ceasefire proposals or our comments in the media. All I will say is that Israeli is trying to obtain through negotiations what it couldn't through war." The terrorist leader vowed to “continue our efforts on the ground, whether the negotiations succeed or not. “We are confronting a savage enemy, and we will remain on the ground, no matter the cost, as we will also increase the cost for the enemy. We are facing Israeli human monsters supported by American human monsters,” threatened Qassem. Disarm and retreat Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War, stipulated that Hezbollah must disarm and retreat north of the Litani River, but was never enforced. The Litani lies some 20 miles from the Israel-Lebanon border. Its enforcement, along with Israeli freedom of operation in Lebanon should Hezbollah violate the terms of a ceasefire agreement, are the key sticking points in the current negotiations. Netanyahu emphasized during a speech in the Knesset plenum on Monday that Israel will not allow Hezbollah to “return to the state it was in on Oct. 6, 2023. “We will be required, in order to ensure our security in the north, to systematically carry out operations—not only against Hezbollah’s attacks, which could come. Even if there is a ceasefire, nobody can guarantee it will hold. So it’s not only our reaction, a preventive reaction, a reaction in the wake of attack but also the capacity to prevent Hezbollah from strengthening,” he said. Hezbollah has launched some 16,000 rockets, missiles and drones from Lebanon at Israel since joining the war in support of Hamas on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after the Gaza-based terrorist group’s massacre in southern Israel. More than 60,000 residents of northern Israel remain internally displaced due to the ongoing rocket and drone attacks from Lebanon. Seventy-six people in northern Israel have been killed by Hezbollah cross-border rocket, missile and drone attacks since the start of the war, including 31 soldiers and six foreign citizens, according to the latest data provided by the Prime Minister’s Office, updated on Sunday. In addition, 729 people have been wounded, including 497 civilians and 232 soldiers. Of these, 29 civilians and 37 soldiers were severely injured; 63 civilians and 38 soldiers were moderately injured and 405 civilians and 157 soldiers were lightly injured. Hezbollah’s leadership has been left in tatters following a series of targeted killings by Israel, including that of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on Sept. 27. This was preceded by Israeli sabotage of Hezbollah communication devices that killed 39 people and wounded more than 3,400 members of the terrorist group. Israel has been waging a devastating aerial campaign against Hezbollah throughout Lebanon, including its stronghold of Dahieh south of Beirut. According to Israeli estimates, the terrorist group has lost most of its arsenal to the ongoing strikes. Then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in late October that Hezbollah had lost an estimated 80%-plus of its long-range rockets since the start of the war. Israel also continues to battle Hamas terrorists in Gaza. The terrorist group still holds 101 hostages in the Strip, 97 of whom were kidnapped on Oct. 7. Many of the captives are believed to be dead. Brazil summit Meanwhile, G20 leaders gathered in Rio de Janeiro for a summit put out a joint statement on Monday calling for “comprehensive” ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon. The leaders of the world’s biggest economies called for U.S. proposals to end fighting in Gaza and free the hostages, and one for Lebanon “that enables citizens to return safely to their homes on both sides of the Blue Line.” The 13-point U.S. proposal presented to Lebanese officials on Nov. 14 includes a 60-day truce, during which Lebanon would redeploy its troops along the border. The proposal also calls for Moscow to prevent Hezbollah from resupplying itself via Syrian land routes. Hezbollah would retreat north of the Litani River, with the border area then being under control of the Lebanese Armed Forces, overseen by the United States and Britain. Israeli officials are emphasizing, however, that the Israel Defense Forces must retain freedom of operation in Lebanon to thwart attempts by Hezbollah to violate the agreement and rearm and reestablish itself. A senior Israeli diplomatic official told Israel Hayom on Saturday that the IDF will retain operational freedom to respond to any security threats from across the northern border, regardless of any diplomatic arrangements. However, a source close to Hezbollah told The Washington Post that the group’s “condition for progress remains clear: Israel must be prohibited from conducting operations within Lebanese territory.” Berri emphasized at the time that any ceasefire agreement must not include the ability for Israel to attack by land, sea or air, Channel 12 reported. “Otherwise, what’s the purpose of an agreement?” he remarked. Another sticking point is Lebanon’s objection to the United Kingdom and Germany monitoring the implementation of U.N. Resolution 1701. Beirut reportedly favors the United States and France. If the ceasefire efforts fail, there are plans in the works to expand ground operations in Lebanon, an Israeli military official told the Post. Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer discussed the proposal with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump during a visit to his Florida estate earlier this month, as well as with senior Biden administration officials in Washington. Dermer also traveled to Russia to discuss the ceasefire proposal. Tehran is telling its Lebanese terrorist proxy Hezbollah that it supports ending the war against Israel, The New York Times reported over the weekend. Ali Larijani, senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, met with senior Lebanese officials in Beirut on Nov. 15 to discuss the matter. Two Iranians affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps told the Times that Larijani conveyed messages to Hezbollah from Khamenei that he supported the end of the war and that the regime would assist with rebuilding the terrorist group’s forces and recovering from the war.](https://jewishwebsite.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Gideon-Saar-1320x880-2-218x150.jpg "Sa’ar: Israel must be free to act against Hezbollah truce violations")
Israeli authorities have arrested a married couple from central Israel on suspicion of carrying out espionage for the Islamic Republic.
Rafael and Lala Guliyev, both 32 years of age, from Lod, were taken into custody after an investigation by the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Israel Police revealed they had been in direct contact with an Iranian intelligence operative.
The duo allegedly tracked sensitive security installations and conducted surveillance on a prominent defense researcher.
Prosecutors were expected to file charges on Thursday.
According to investigators, Rafael Guliyev was recruited by Elshan (Elkhan) Agayev, 56, an Azerbaijani-born operator known to be working for Iranian intelligence as part of a network targeting Israeli citizens of Caucasus origin.
Under Agayev’s direction, Guliyev allegedly conducted surveillance of several high-security locations, including Mossad headquarters, and gathered intelligence about a researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS). Guliyev was also allegedly tasked with recruiting a potential hit man, with his wife Lala allegedly assisting in several operations.
“These arrests are part of a broader pattern we’ve uncovered in recent weeks,” said a senior ISA official. “We’ve detained multiple Israeli citizens who were carrying out missions for Iranian intelligence. These cases repeatedly demonstrate Iran’s persistent efforts to recruit Israeli citizens for espionage and terror operations within Israel.”
A high-ranking police official emphasized that Israel “will show zero tolerance toward those who collaborate with hostile entities and endanger our citizens and state.”
INSS released a statement in response to the arrests, expressing the institute’s “profound gratitude to the Shin Bet security agency for preventing the planned operation against our staff member.”
Another serious Iranian espionage case was revealed on Thursday within two hours of the first one. An indictment was filed against a resident of the central Israeli city of Bnei Brak, Asher Binyamin Weiss, who is accused of tracking an Israeli nuclear scientist at the direction of Iranian agents, for the purpose of assassination.
Weiss faces charges of contact with a foreign agent, providing intelligence to the enemy and obstruction of justice.
He allegedly used a GoPro camera to record the scientist’s home and vehicle, sending the footage to an Iranian agent. The agent then transferred the footage to a young man from the Arab neighborhood of Beit Safafa in southern Jerusalem, who was tasked with carrying out the assassination.
According to the indictment, Weiss, also under Iranian direction, allegedly set vehicles on fire, threw pipes onto Israeli roads, sprayed graffiti and posted hundreds of posters in Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan with messages of incitement calling for civil unrest.
Weiss allegedly received thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency for his efforts on behalf of the Islamic Republic.
The prosecutors’ office requested an extension of his detention until the end of the legal proceedings against him “because this case joins a series of serious indictments that have been filed in recent weeks, as part of an uncompromising fight waged by the state attorney’s office against those who seek to harm the security of the state.”
Last week, seven Arabs from Jerusalem were arrested by Israeli security forces on suspicion of plotting to murder scientists and officials on behalf of the Islamic Republic.
The suspects, ranging in age from 17 to 23, from the neighborhood of Beit Safafa in eastern Jerusalem, were allegedly asked by Tehran to kill a nuclear scientist and the mayor of a large city.
The leader of the terror squad, 23-year-old Rami Alian, confessed to the charges, stating during interrogation that he “felt proud that an Iranian approached him,” according to Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster.
Separately, seven Israeli Jews, including two minors aged 16 and 17, as well as a father and son, have been in custody since September on suspicion of conducting espionage for Iran in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Earlier this month, a prosecutor’s statement was submitted against them, with a request to extend their detention until the end of the proceedings, while the security establishment investigates how they operated for two years under the radar of the Shin Bet, IDF, police and Mossad.
The suspects were identified as Aziz Nisanov, Alexander Sadikov, Yigal Nisan, Vyacheslav Gushchin, Yevgeny Yoffe. Two of the suspects were not named as they are minors. All are Israeli Jews who immigrated from Azerbaijan.
Also in October, the Israel Police announced that Vladimir Verhovski, 35, a resident of Petah Tikvah in central Israel, had been arrested for plotting to assassinate a prominent figure at the direction of Tehran. The suspect had allegedly agreed to murder an Israeli scientist in exchange for $100,000, and had already acquired a weapon to carry out the hit.
In August, authorities arrested a Jewish businessman on suspicion of having met with Iranians and assisting them in planning high-profile assassinations, including of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Moti Maman, 73, from the southern city of Ashkelon, visited the Islamic Republic twice in recent months, where he demanded $1 million as a down payment for a series of missions, according to the Shin Bet.
His arrest came as the Shin Bet revealed it had thwarted an attempt by Iranian-backed Hezbollah to assassinate a former senior Israeli security official. According to the agency, the attack involved an explosive device and was intended to be carried out imminently.
In September 2023, Hezbollah terrorists tried to assassinate former defense minister and Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Moshe Ya’alon using a remotely detonated bomb in central Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park.