The Hamas flag. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – The Haifa District Prosecution has indicted Mohammed Abed, a 42-year-old attorney from the village of Baana near the northern Israeli city of Acre, for a series of security offenses concerning his contacts with senior Hamas operatives.

A gag order placed on the case was partially lifted Monday, revealing that Abed was arrested Feb. 24 in a joint Israeli police, Shin Bet security agency, and Israel Defense Forces operation.

Abed was charged with multiple counts of contacting a foreign agent and providing services to an illegal association. The indictment alleged that for years, while legally representing Hamas members jailed in Israel, Abed has been a go-between for several senior Hamas operatives—including Abbas al-Sayed, who planned the 2002 Passover bombing at Netanya’s Park Hotel—and Hamas officials in Gaza and the West Bank.