Lebanon has charged four people with collaborating with Israel, raising to 23 the number of suspected spies who have been charged in the last few months, a court official has said.Saqr Saqr, the military prosecutor charged the four men on Saturday with providing Israel with information about civilian and military positions and political figures.
General Jean Kahwaji, the Lebanese army commander, vowed to continue the crackdown against Israeli spies in a speech to troops on Saturday, Lebanon's state news agency reported. The Lebanese army warned its troops against Israeli attempts to infiltrate the military. Saturday's warning came days after security officials said authorities detained a Lebanese army colonel on suspicion of spying for Israel in the first case involving a high-ranking military officer. Since the hunt for spies began in April, Lebanon has arrested 35 people on suspicion of spying for Israel, Brigadier General Ashraf Rifi, a Lebanese police commander, told the Associated Press news agency. Lebanon considers itself at war with Israel and bans its citizens from having any contact with the country.
Spying for or collaborating with Israel can be punishable by death. Some of the 23 people who have been charged are still at large. Those in custody have all been accused of providing intelligence to Israel on the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which fought a 34-day war with Israel in 2006 that killed 1,200 people in Lebanon and 159 in Israel.
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