JERUSALEM - Israel's Shin Beth internal security service said Wednesday that it had dismantled an intelligence cell of the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah in the occupied West Bank.
Three Palestinians suspected of being recruited to the cell were detained in the northern West Bank city of Nablus on February 25, a statement said.
The main suspect is a 21-year-old student from nearby An-Najah University, Wassam Nasser, who is accused of having been recruited and given military and intelligence training during a trip to Lebanon, the statement said.
Shin Beth officers charge that he sent Hezbollah chiefs pictures of Israeli roadblocks and bases around Nablus by internet.
Two Palestinians of the same age were also detained on suspicion of assisting the intelligence gathering.
Israel, which pulled out of south Lebanon in 2000 under Hezbollah fire, has long accused the Lebanese militant group of involvement in unrest in the Palestinian territories but has so far provided little proof.
04/06/2005 18:26 GMT