A 16.5-year-old minor from the Shephelah region admitted today (Monday), as part of a plea agreement in the Central District Court in Lod, to committing security offenses of contacting a foreign agent and passing information to the enemy.
After receiving the probation service's report, as required by law, the arguments for the sentence will be heard, after which the court will pronounce the defendant's sentence.
The defendant admitted to the facts of an amended indictment, according to which he had active contact for several months with an Iranian agent after the outbreak of the 'Iron Swords' War, knowing that he was an entity hostile to the State of Israel, and carried out various tasks for the agent.
In return, the defendant received a payment of 1,600 shekels, which was transferred to his digital wallet in the TrustWallet app.
The indictment indicates that the connection between the defendant and the Iranian agent was established through the Telegram app and, at the agent's direction, at various times, the defendant performed various tasks, such as printing and distributing inciting political posters, documenting and videotaping them in public spaces, sometimes while setting them on fire, as well as other tasks.
The agent also instructed the defendant to write on paper, "Where do you think the next target is?", share the location of the relevant building, all while documenting the events with video and photos.
Subsequently, the defendant moved between eight government buildings and various authorities in the city of Rehovot, including the Magistrate's Court, the Tax Authority, the police station, the Enforcement Bureau, the Ministry of Housing, and more. In each of these places, he held the paper with the inscription and documented it on video and in photos, which he passed on to the agent.
The defendant also provided the agent with precise locations of virtual currency ATMs in various locations in the country and usage reports that included sensitive information.
The defendant admitted that he actively cooperated with the agent and even suggested ideas for missions himself, including vandalizing public property using graffiti with blatant political content, burying money in various locations on the streets and in Rishon LeZion, documenting and inspecting stores selling drones, as well as attempts to recruit additional members to carry out missions for the agent.
On May 1 of this year, when a huge fire raged in the Jerusalem hills and the Shephelah, the agent asked the defendant to set fire to a forest area near Rehovot - a task that was not carried out due to a dispute over the amount of payment.
The indictment further states that the defendant installed a secure communication app on a phone that allowed the agent to remotely control the camera, and also added the agent to WhatsApp groups of which he was a member.
The amended indictment stated that the defendant called the 100 hotline and reported the contact with the foreign agent and the tasks described.
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