Israeli authorities have indicted a Jewish Israeli man for his involvement in an assassination plot against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials. The man, Moti Maman, 73, admitted to having a 'lapse of judgment' and is now cooperating with law enforcement.
Maman was arrested in August after Israeli police discovered that he had visited Iran twice to meet with intelligence officials who assigned him various tasks to carry out in Israel. During his most recent trip to Iran in August, Iranian intelligence allegedly proposed assassination plots against Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar.
Authorities revealed that Maman had demanded a $1 million advance payment for his participation in the plot, but Iran only paid him 5,000 Euros. A senior Shin Bet official described the incident as a serious example of Iranian intelligence agencies recruiting Israeli citizens for terrorist activities in Israel.
Israeli Operation Targets Hezbollah Pagers
News of Maman's indictment comes in the wake of a massive Israeli operation targeting pagers used by Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy terrorist group in Lebanon. The operation involved the detonation of hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon and Syria, resulting in at least 37 deaths and over 3,000 injuries.
While Israel has not officially claimed responsibility for the explosions, experts believe that the sophisticated attack likely required months of planning and have credited Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad, for the operation. Hezbollah and Lebanon have accused Israel of being behind the explosions, with a senior U.S. official confirming Israel's involvement.
Hezbollah has long used pagers for communication, but following the recent attacks, the group's leader has urged members to cease using cell phones over concerns of Israeli intelligence tracking. The explosions have raised tensions in the region and highlighted the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iranian-backed groups.
