Security guard in Israel charged with contact with a foreign agent — Jerusalem Post

In Israel, the Haifa District Prosecutor’s Office has charged 25-year-old Mohammad Khalaf, a resident of Baqa al-Gharbiyye, with contact with a foreign agent. According to the investigation, the man carried out tasks for an Iranian handler, received payment in cryptocurrency, and used artificial intelligence tools, including consulting ChatGPT. The Jerusalem Post reported this, citing the indictment.

Khalaf worked as a security guard at a youth boarding school. The prosecution claims that he found an advertisement for a courier vacancy in a Telegram group for finding temporary work and contacted a person who identified himself as Martin on August 17. Previously, this contact had introduced himself as Thomas.

Cryptocurrency transfers and dead drops

According to the indictment, the interlocutor transferred money to Khalaf through the OKX app. To gain Khalaf’s trust, the handler paid for his Telegram Premium subscription and transferred $50 in bitcoin.

Investigators believe that, on the handler’s instructions, Khalaf found a Samsung Galaxy phone hidden near a tree in the Kiryat Haim area, photographed and filmed the hiding place. He allegedly received 1,050 Israeli shekels for this task.

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The prosecution also alleges that he withdrew funds from a crypto wallet, put 300 shekels in an envelope, and hid it in a light fixture in the restroom of a gas station near the Shaar Menashe psychiatric hospital. On the same day, the man, prosecutors claim, documented other possible locations for dead drops.

Data on boarding school security

The prosecution states that Khalaf printed an English-language letter that allegedly was an invitation to a secret meeting in Paris and left it under a stone in a grove near Kibbutz Lehavot Haviva. He then sent the handler documentation of the location and its exact coordinates.

According to case materials, the man also told his interlocutor details of his work: security procedures, night shifts, and the location of surveillance cameras at the boarding school. He allegedly agreed to renew his passport ahead of a planned meeting with the handler abroad.

Khalaf was detained on September 6 and has remained in custody since then. Along with the indictment, the prosecution filed a motion to keep him in custody until the end of the trial. According to the prosecution, during questioning he admitted to contacts with the handler, carrying out tasks, and receiving money.