The Lebanese fundamentalist group Hizbollah denied Thursday that it had recruited seven Israeli Arabs charged with spying for it.
An Israeli court in the northern port city of Haifa alleged Wednesday that the seven Israeli citizens arrested a month ago from the Arab village of Abu Snan near Acre, had supplied information to Hizbollah and worked to recruit others for the Shiite Muslim guerrilla group.
In a statement Hizbollah called the charges "baseless", saying they formed part of Israel's "implacable war against the Palestinians and all freedom-loving people in the world."
Hizbollah fought Israel in south Lebanon until the Jewish state pulled out its troops in May, ending 22 years of occupation.
The group however continues to regard Israel as an enemy and has carried out several attacks along the northern Israeli border, the latest on Sunday in which a roadside bomb explosion killed an Israeli soldier.
Hizbollah in early October captured three Israeli soldiers, hoping to exchange them for Lebanese Islamic militants held in Israeli jails without charge or trial – BEIRUT (AFP)
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