The State Attorney's Office recently filed an indictment in the Haifa Youth Court against two minors, aged 14 and 16 from Kiryat Motzkin, attributing to them the performance of tasks on behalf of Iranian intelligence. According to the information in the indictment as reported by Walla, the minors established contact with an individual on Telegram identifying as "Daniel," and subsequently agreed to perform a series of tasks in exchange for payment, partly transferred via cryptocurrency. The indictment details that the minors continued the connection even after suspicion arose—and explicit confirmation was received—that the individual was an Iranian agent.
The indictment claims activities included gathering sensitive information on malls in Herzliya and Tel Aviv, including security and entrance details. In one instance, it is alleged that the minor deleted footage fearing it could be used for an attack. Additionally, both sprayed graffiti in their area and sent documentation to the handler. Furthermore, one minor allegedly attempted to recruit others by impersonating an intelligence officer from Unit 8200 to convince them to perform high-risk tasks.
The case was solved through a covert investigation by the Israel Police, the Asher Central Unit, and other security agencies, with one minor arrested at Ben Gurion Airport. The indictment charges the primary minor with contacting a foreign agent, providing information to the enemy, and vandalism, while the second minor is charged with aiding and abetting contact with a foreign agent and vandalism. It should be emphasized that these are allegations appearing in an indictment that have not yet been decided by a court, and defense responses have not been published.
The legal implications of these offenses, defined as threats to state security, are severe even for minors. Israeli courts view contact with hostile entities with extreme gravity. Legal proceedings against minors in youth court are conducted behind closed doors to protect privacy, yet remain under the weight of criminal responsibility derived from the security offenses alleged.