Hezbollah updates security after suspect caught spying for Israel

Feb 19, 2009, 14:52 GMT

Beirut - The Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah has adopted 'extraordinary security changes,' in light of the recent discovery and arrest of a man suspected of spying on the group for Israel since the mid-1990s, a Lebanese security source said Thursday.

The source, who did not want to be identified, confirmed the measures, as reported earlier in the Lebanese daily Al Balad, but gave no details.

The changes were a reaction to the movement's detection and detention of suspected spy Marwan Faqih by Hezbollah in January. The car dealer allegedly began spying on Hezbollah in the mid-1990s for Israel's Mossad intelligence agency.

The paper said that Hezbollah detained Faqih in January and on Monday handed him to Lebanese army intelligence.

According to a judicial source, no formal charges have been filed against Faqih.

Hezbollah's new security measures reportedly went into effect on February 16, after it handed Faqih over to the army.

According to the source, Faqih owned a gas station and was known for his close links with Hezbollah.

The source said Faqih is believed to have been recruited by Mossad in France and assigned the task of gathering information on Hezbollah for the Israeli agency through transactions in which he sold cars to the leaders from the movement.

Al Balad reported that Faqih was discovered when a car he sold to a Hezbollah official underwent repairs for electrical problems and found to have been fitted with a tracking device connected to a satellite.

Al Balad said Faqih was highly respected by Hezbollah officials and known for his generosity and donations to the movement.

The paper reported that a similar device might have contributed to the February 12, 2008 death of Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughaniyeh in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

Israel and Hezbollah fought a devastating 33-day war in 2006 that was sparked by a cross-border raid carried out by fighters from the Shiite movement.