Israel charges Swede with passing information to Lebanon's Hezbollah

Israel indicted Sunday a Swedish citizen for transferring information to Hezbollah, saying the Lebanese guerilla tasked him with collecting information on military facilities.

Hassan Khalil Hizran, 55, was arrested at Ben Gurion International Airport on July 21 on his way to Israel, Israel's Shin Bet security service said in a statement.

According to the statement, Hizran admitted to join Hezbollah in 2009. He was tasked with recruiting Israelis, with an emphasis on those with ties to Jews, or access to army personnel, the defense establishment, or government officials.

He was also tasked with gathering information on Israeli military bases and other sites with large concentration of soldiers, arms and tanks, said the Shin Bet.

He was indicted on three criminal counts, including transferring information and contacting a foreign agent.

Hizran denied the charges against him Sunday at court, his Israeli lawyer, Leah Tsemel, told Ha'aretz newspaper. She said Hizran was born in Lebanon to Palestinian refugees from the Upper Galilee in northern Israel, and was badly hurt during the 1982 Israel-Lebanon war.

He later received a Swedish citizenship but some of his relatives still live in Lebanon and Israel.

According to Tsemel, Hezbollah tried to enlist him for the organization but Hizran refused.

She said the prosecution first wanted to accuse him of spying but later decided to drop the case, charging him only with transferring information.

"There's no real crime here. They tried to accuse him of espionage, and it was given up entirely," she said.