Ex-Shin Bet official: Teheran knew Israeli Arab was watching Ashkenazi

Perry Golan says Hizbullah constantly trying to recruit Israeli Arabs.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Ashkenazi 248.88 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
Ashkenazi 248.88
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
Iran was kept abreast of Hizbullah's recent efforts to collect information on IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, Perry Golan, former head of the Arab Department head in the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), said on Thursday. He spoke during a conference on national security held by the S.Daniel Abraham Center for Strategic Dialogue at Netanya Academic College. Hizbullah, Golan said, was subordinate to Iran and it was probable that the recruitment of the Israeli Arab who was trying to gather intelligence on Ashkenazi was done in coordination with Teheran. Rawi Sultani, a 23-year-old from Tira, was allegedly recruited by Hizbullah in the summer of 2008 when he traveled to Morocco to attend a Balad Party summer camp. An indictment was filed against him in the Petah Tikva District Court on August 31. Hizbullah, Golan went on to say, was constantly trying to recruit Israeli Arabs to gain knowledge on Israel from within, and had redoubled such efforts since the February 2008 assassination in Damascus of Hizbullah terror mastermind Imad Mughniyeh, which the organization attributes to Israel. Moving on to global issues, Golan said US President Barack Obama and other Western leaders erroneously believed that a compromise could be reached with extremist Islam. Golan cited Iran and al-Qaida as examples. "Their ideology is not up for discussion. They believe they work according to the will of God, and no one compromises on that," he said. Golan also warned that the second generation of European Muslims had a stronger Islamic identity, citing the Internet as one of the reasons for this.