Israel Society

By Pesach Benson • July 17, 2025

Jerusalem, 17 July, 2025 (TPS-IL) — A Bedouin teacher from the Negev has been arrested for conducting espionage missions for Iran, the Israel Police and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) announced Thursday.

Authorities said Tahani Abu Samhan, 33, a resident of the unrecognized Bedouin village of Abu Quwader, covertly collected intelligence on the Nevatim Air Force base in the Negev during the 12-day war with Iran. Specifically, she photographed the mirrors of fighter jets stationed there.

She also used a dedicated phone to communicate with Iranian handlers and received instructions.

Samhan, “was in contact with Iranian intelligence officials and carried out various security missions for them over the past year, fully aware that she was being operated by hostile foreign agents,” the Shin Bet said.

She was arrested in June. An indictment was filed in the Beer-Sheva District Court, charging Samhan with maintaining contact with foreign intelligence and passing sensitive information to enemy agents.

The announcement did not specify if Samhan received payment from her handlers.

Samhan is the 34th Israeli charged with espionage on behalf of Iran in the last seven months.

Israeli Police spokesperson Dean Elsdunne recently told The Press Service of Israel that after agents make contact with an Israeli, “It starts out slowly, with small jobs, and slowly the money increases, and they are asked to do more severe crimes as time goes on.”

Many of the spies are first asked to spray specific graffiti messages. Assignments often escalate to hanging flyers, starting fires, then taking photos of shopping malls, infrastructure, bases or the homes of Israeli figures. In some cases, they are asked to kill someone.