A Lebanese military court on Tuesday sentenced a man to death for spying for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency and aiding Israel in a deadly 2006 war against Lebanon, a judicial source said.
"The head of the military court General Nizar Khalil sentenced Ali Hassan Mentesh to death for arms dealing, entering and collaborating with Israel, providing it with information about certain targets," the source said.
Israel "used this information to hit its targets" in 2006 war with Shiite militant group Hizbullah, which killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, mainly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mainly soldiers.
Lebanon and Israel remain technically in a state of war, and convicted spies face life in prison with hard labor or the death penalty if found guilty of contributing to Lebanese loss of life.
Mentesh, 53, hails from the southern area of Nabatieh and was arrested in April last year when Lebanon launched what is an ongoing crackdown on suspected Israeli espionage rings.
Charbel Qazzi, a technician at Lebanon's Alfa mobile phone service provider, was also charged on Tuesday of "entering enemy territory, collaborating with Israel and providing it with information," the source said.
Qazzi, who was arrested last month, also faces the death penalty if convicted.
MP Hassan Fadlallah, a member of Hizbullah and head of Parliament's information and telecommunications committee, said Qazzi had been giving Israel "vital information" on communications and security for 14 years.
Lebanon has arrested more than 70 people since last year on suspicion of spying for Israel, including members of the country’s security forces.
Israel has not commented on the arrests.
Source: Agence France-Presse, July 13, 2010
