TEL AVIV, Israel, July 11 (UPI) -- Israel's Supreme Court Thursday turned down a request for anonymity by a Jew who allegedly spied for Hezbollah and lifted a gag order that barred publication of his identity.
Nissim Nasser, 35, of Holon, a middle-class suburb of Tel Aviv, had asked the court to ban publication of his name, picture and charge sheet, saying he feared Hezbollah might persecute his family in Lebanon. However, a top Israel Security Agency official told the court that Hezbollah does not turn against the families of exposed agents. The ISA added translated clippings from the Lebanese press showing that the suspect's identity is well known there.
According to charges filed at the Tel Aviv District Court June 27, Nasser allegedly supplied Hezbollah with information on Israeli plans to kill "senior elements" in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.
Additionally, Hezbollah allegedly got Nasser to gather intelligence on electricity and gas installations in the Tel Aviv area and ordered him to befriend a senior army officer, reportedly a lieutenant colonel.
Nasser also reportedly passed on warnings of planned targeted killings several days before the son of Ahmed Jibril, leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, was killed in Beirut in May.
Nasser immigrated from Lebanon 10 years ago, leaving behind a family that included a Muslim father, a Jewish mother, and a brother Hamed, also known as Abu Mussa. Hezbollah allegedly contacted Nasser through Hamed.
Reporters had interviewed Nasser's mother, who said she got word of the arrest when mourning her husband's death.
Nasser's wife Ruth, an immigrant from Moldova was shocked by the arrest. "He wouldn't have endangered his daughters," she told Channel 2 TV wiping her tears. The couple has two daughters.
Hezbollah denied any link with Nissim Nasser.
