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Hezbollah publishes names of Syrians in contact with Israel

An Israeli-Druze official denies that Syrian opposition members are in danger after their details were hacked from his computer, and says a pro-Hezbollah paper lied about him being in contact with ISIS and arming rebels.

By: Lauren Calin, World Israel News
Mendi Safadi

Mendi Safadi in his office in Jerusalem. (Mendi Safadi/Twitter)

Syrian opposition members in contact with Israel may be in danger after their names, addresses and phone numbers were published by the Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper, al-Akhbar. According to the report, the information was obtained by hacking the computer of an Israeli-Druze government official, Mendi Safadi. Safadi admits the hack took place, but says there is no reason for alarm.

Safadi served as chief of staff for Deputy Regional Cooperation Minister Ayoub Kara when his computer was hacked, though he is currently working internationally as a lobbyist on Syria. “It is only natural for the Syrian regime and Hezbollah to go after me in every possible way considering the successes I have had in my work,” he told the Times of Israel.

“There is no danger in their exposure, neither to me nor to them,” he states, noting that most of his contacts were either using an alias or are already open about their ties to Israel. “Those who stood to be harmed by the article are people still [officially] working alongside the [Assad] regime. No such names were revealed, which is good,” he added.

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The Hezbollah paper also claimed that Safadi was involved in arming Syria rebels and was in contacts with ISIS. Safadi told The Jerusalem Post that these are lies; however, he said the rest of the report was accurate. This included two photographs, one with Prime Minister Netanyahu and the other of him draped in an Israeli flag, which were taken from his Facebook page.

Hezbollah and Iran, which are intervening on behalf of the Assad regime in Syria, both claim that the United States and Israel are behind the rise of ISIS, purportedly to sow discord among Muslims.