Palestinian detained on suspicion of spying for Iran

The military prosecution has requested the court allow it to continue the investigation to further ground the evidence in the case, with additional technological and intelligence inquiries.

By JNS

Israeli security forces arrested a 24-year-old Palestinian woman earlier this month on suspicion of being in contact with and carrying out missions on behalf of an Iranian handler, Israel’s Channel 12 News reported on Monday.

The military court had extended her detention by eight days for the continuation of the investigation, the report added.

A resident of the town of Beit Ummar, located about seven miles northwest of Hebron, the suspect was arrested on Aug. 6 by Israel Defense Forces troops and Judea and Samaria District police from the Etzion station, Channel 12 reported.

During the interrogation, the suspect initially confessed to some of the allegations against her, and disclosed information about the relationship she had developed with the “hostile entity,” the report read.

Later on, she admitted to all the allegations, according to the report.

The investigation was reportedly led by the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and IDF intelligence agencies.

The military prosecution has requested the court allow it to continue the investigation to further ground the evidence in the case, with additional technological and intelligence inquiries.

Almost two years ago, Israel arrested three Palestinians and two Israeli-Arabs on suspicion of spying on senior Israeli politicians—National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir among them—in a scheme crafted by Iran, AP reported on Sep. 27, 2023.

An Iranian security official living in Jordan recruited the three Palestinians, 47-year old Murad Kamamaja, 34-year-old Hassan Mujarimah and 45-year-old Ziad Shanti, as well as the other two, to gather intelligence in Israel, the ISA reportedly said.

The plot was foiled by the Israeli intelligence community.

In July, 2025, Israel’s State Attorney’s Office announced that prosecutors had indicted a Jewish citizen of Iranian origin on charges of spying on behalf of the Islamic Republic.

The suspect, only identified as an Israeli who immigrated to the Jewish state from Iran in 1999, and his Iran-based romantic partner even met two Iranian officials in Turkey in 2024, according to the indictment.

“Following this meeting the defendant communicated with the Iranian agent via Telegram on several occasions and provided information— both upon request and on his own initiative—on various subjects,” a spokesperson for the State Attorney’s Office said in a statement.