The indictment asserted that Mahzouma's brother, who had served time for security offenses, mediated the Hamas recruitment effort. The brother, who was not identified, was said to have shuttled between Lebanon and Syria and was assigned to recruit Israeli Arabs.

In one of their first assignments, Akbariya and Mahzouma were ordered to find a place to locate Hamas weapons. Despite a map and description, the two operatives failed to find the cache.

Akbaria was also alleged to have been involved in Hamas recruitment of Israeli Arabs. The indictment said one unidentified recruit had been assigned to undergo Hamas military training in Syria and Turkey. The two men, alleged to have received thousands of dollars from Hamas, said the recruitment effort was never completed.

Israeli authorities also determined that Hamas was working with the Syrian military in the recruitment of Israeli Arabs. Mahzouma was quoted by the indictment as saying that his brother was coordinating with the Syrian military, interested in photographs of unidentified facilities in Israel.

Syria has also been cited in efforts to recruit Israel's Druse population. On Sept. 29, another Israeli court handed down an indictment against two Druse residents of the border town of Majdal Shams alleged to have been recruited to spy for Syria. The indictment said one of the defendants was ordered to abduct an Israeli soldier.

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