Spy case? Israeli arrested in Lebanon

The purpose of Sharon's visits to Lebanon is anyone's guess. If he is really a spy, he was playing easy to get, using legal passports under his own name.

 

Ami Isseroff

 

Last update - 12:00 22/09/2007    

 

Lebanese media: Israeli arrested due to frequent visits on foreign passport

 

By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent

 

An Israeli citizen has been arrested in Lebanon, local media reported on Saturday. The reports suggest that the man was arrested due to frequent visits to the country using a foreign passport.

 

According to Lebanese publication Al-Akhbar Wa-Sapir, Daniel Sharon was arrested on Thursday following an investigation into the murder of a Lebanese citizen. During the murder investigation it had emerged that the German-Israeli dual citizen had visited Lebanon 11 times over the last two years. Sharon denied allegations he was on an espionage mission.

 

According to reports, Lebanese police was investigating a murder of a man found dead in his home. The victim had been shot with a gun belonging to a security worker who had been his roommate. The roommate was summoned for questioning, and maintained that he had lost his gun.

The roommate also said that during the time of the murder, he had been with his German friend who lives at the Four Points Sheraton hotel in Beirut. A hotel employee told the police that Sharon had paid him a sum of money in exchange for not writing his full name on any documents.

 

During questioning, it emerged that Sharon is well versed regarding Lebanon, speaks good Arabic and uses idioms. According to reports, Sharon learned to speak Arabic in the United Arab Emirates and his teacher had been a Bahraini citizen. The Lebanese media reported that Sharon kept his cool during questioning and denied accusations that he was a spy.

 

The media also reported that Sharon had visited Lebanon 11 times since 2005, once immediately prior to the Second Lebanon War with Israel last summer. His last visit was four days prior to his arrest, and he was scheduled to leave on the day of his arrest.

 

It later emerged that Sharon had his security worker friend on trips abroad on several occasions, and in exchange the man helped Sharon within Lebanon.