Police investigator: Israelis caught ‘red-handed’ on espionage mission for Iran

Two Israelis arrested for suspected espionage were caught “red-handed,” Israel Police Chief Inspector Yossi Elkarif recounted Thursday.

“They were completing a mission they had been given by their Iranian handler – a photography mission,” he said, adding that they were apprehended in a hotel in the Tel Aviv area.

Elkarif, an investigations commander in Israel Police’s Yahbal unit, which is part of National Major Crime unit 433, described the joint work of Israel’s police and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), saying that intelligence and evidence flow between the organizations.

When asked about the recent arrests and indictments of around two dozen people suspected of espionage for Iran, Elkarif said that it’s important to note that these are the culmination of longer processes.

It’s important “to understand that we have been at war for a year and a month,” he said.

“We are aware of the media and the fact that it seems to the public that we are [arresting] wave after wave after wave [of those suspected of espionage], but it is important to understand that behind the scenes, there is work being done over a longer time frame,” he said.

While the police look at each case individually, there are connections between a few of them, he explained.

“In a number of the recent cases which have become public, there is involvement of an Iranian handler who is known [to security forces] from other cases.”

These cases are also similar in the pattern of how missions advance, he explained.

A pattern that repeats itself 

“There is a certain pattern of action that we can see repeats itself – missions at first are very general and easy to do, and at later stages escalate.”

At later stages, missions can include following people or photographing sensitive sites, he offered as examples.

ELKARIF expanded on the motives of those suspected of espionage, saying that “in some cases, the motivation was financial, [while] in some cases it was disappointment in the state for various reasons.”

Elkarif emphasized that no clear indicator or pattern shows who could be committing acts of espionage for an enemy state.

They can be “the nicest people, who we saw as our neighbors, and they can also be people we never would have believed fit the type.”

The suspects are of all genders, ages, and ethnicities, he said.

Along with this – there are certain limitations Iranian handlers have that may lead them to target certain people, he said. Iran is limited by language and geography, among other factors, he said.

Elkarif explained that some contact was made by handlers online and that “Israeli citizens must be very alert to attempts by enemy states who contact them [in an attempt to get them] to complete various actions.”

This type of contact should be reported to Israeli authorities.

Elkarif expressed that he feels comforted knowing the work Israel’s security bodies are doing to contend with espionage.

“At this stage, we know we are thwarting a lot [of plans] and preventing threats from being realized.”

In recent months, the unit is “working around the clock on many incidents [related to espionage].”

“At the end of the day, as a citizen in the State of Israel, I can put my faith in the various security organizations, including enforcement.”