The Haifa District Court sentenced Fares Abu al-Hija, 32, from Kaukab Abu al-Hija, to 55 months in prison on Tuesday after he was convicted of contact with a foreign agent. Abu al-Hija carried out a series of tasks for an Iranian intelligence operative, including filming streets near the home of former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
1+Over several months, Abu al-Hija performed various missions in exchange for payments transferred through the Binance app. According to the charges, he continued working even after suspecting his handler was a foreign agent, but avoided confirming his suspicions.
His tasks included purchasing and hiding cell phones and chargers at various locations in Haifa and Kiryat Haim, activating the devices, installing communication apps on them, documenting the hiding spots, and passing the information to his handler. He was later asked to deliver an envelope containing access codes to a cryptocurrency account at a location in Zichron Yaakov, and to photograph a café in Tel Aviv.
1+In January 2026, he received another assignment: travel to the community of Amikim and photograph streets near the home of former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. After completing the filming and sending it to his handler, he was arrested on the spot.