Israeli Arab charged with spying for Hezbollah released from prison in plea bargain

Israeli Arab accused of spying freed in plea deal

JERUSALEM — An Israeli Arab charged with spying for Hezbollah has been released from jail in a plea bargain.

Courts spokeswoman Nitzan Eyal said Monday that Omar Sayid was freed last week after five months behind bars. He pleaded guilty to contact with an enemy agent — a crime that could have carried up to seven years in prison.

Sayid and a prominent Arab activist were both arrested earlier this year on charges of spying for Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group that fought a monthlong war with Israel in 2006. The other activist remains behind bars.

Sayid’s lawyer, Abeer Baker, says her client declined an offer to join Hezbollah by an agent who approached him in Egypt. She says the reduced sentence signaled the case against him was weak.