By entering your email, you are agreeing to Fox News Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive. To access the content, check your email and follow the instructions provided.\n <\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
JERUSALEM \u2014 As Israel wages a fierce war in Gaza against one of Iran\u2019s best trained proxies, Hamas, the Islamic regime in Tehran is ramping up its effort to attack the Jewish State directly via social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Telegram. It’s recruiting Israelis of Iranian origin for spying and spreading divisive misinformation, Israel\u2019s Security Agency revealed in a statement this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to the agency, which is better known by its acronym, Shin Bet, Iranian security forces have succeeded in recent weeks in recruiting several Israeli citizens, setting them on missions such as photographing the residences of security establishment officials and of prominent figures who have publicly criticized Iran.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Additionally, the Shin Bet said, the Iranians tasked their unwitting Israeli agents to send\u00a0bouquets of flowers and messages\u00a0to some of the\u00a0families of those taken hostage by Hamas during its deadly Oct. 7 terror attack on southern Israel. The Shin Bet also said it had uncovered online platforms used by Iran to promote divisive activities against some of the families, including initiating protests near their homes and taking photos during the mass rallies that have been held weekly in Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dr.\u00a0Yoel Guzansky, a senior fellow at the Institute for\u00a0National\u00a0Security\u00a0Studies at\u00a0Tel Aviv University, told Fox News Digital Iran\u2019s actions since the outbreak of the Gaza war following Hamas\u2019 attack “shows that Iran is determined to weaken Israel and uses anything in its power to do so.”<\/p>\n
IRANIAN PROXIES STEPPING UP THEIR DRONE ATTACKS IN WAR WITH ISRAEL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
Operatives in Tehran created a platform called Kan +, which uses similar graphics to Israel\u2019s national broadcast channel Kan 11 and was being used for “phishing” details of Israelis who responded to its surveys.<\/span> (Israel Security Authority)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nIran has been known to use cyber infiltration methods in the past, including\u00a0a recent case in which four Jewish women of Iranian descent were recruited and asked to photograph sensitive sites by an Iranian operative in Turkey. Guzansky said, since the start of the current war, “the intensity of the attacks we have seen recently is much\u00a0higher.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We are seeing Iran fighting Israel in a few dimensions,” he said, “kinetically, through its proxies and in the cyber area. What is most interesting about the cyber area is that the attacks are directly from Iran.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Shin Bet said it had used advanced tools to detect fictitious online platforms clearly being directed and promoted from Tehran, the Iranian capital. Among the sites uncovered, the Israeli security agency said, were online surveys asking Israelis for personal information that was then used to recruit them for spying and a series of fake websites impersonating various Israeli political parties, as well as Israel\u2019s national broadcasting authority, used by Iran to “inflame the political discourse and deepen the divide in Israel,” the Shin Bet said. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
CCTV cameras in a street in Tehran, Iran, April 9, 2023.<\/span> (Majid Asgaripour\/WANA via REUTERS)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n“The\u00a0Shin Bet, in cooperation with other Israeli\u00a0security agencies, is taking active steps to monitor and thwart any activity that endangers the security of the State of Israel,” the agency said in its statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Iran thinks \u2014 and it is not mistaken \u2014 that\u00a0Israeli society has a soft spot,” Guzansky said, using the example of Israel\u2019s chaotic political system and the mass street protests earlier this year when hundreds of thousands rallied against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s plans to overhaul the judiciary.\u00a0<\/p>\n
IRAN WARNS ATTACKS ON ISRAEL, US WILL CONTINUE AS LONG AS IDF REMAINS IN GAZA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
Two fake websites Iran used to make contact with Israeli citizens and sow division within Israeli society. The site is called Ein Kol, which translates to no voice in Hebrew.\u00a0<\/span> (\u00a0Israel Security Authority)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nHe said Iran was always looking for ways to “pitch\u00a0Israelis against one\u00a0another.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
“They have used all sorts of messages online aimed at dividing and conquering Israel. It is as simple as that,” said Guzansky.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dr.\u00a0Meir Javedanfar, a lecturer in Iran Studies at Reichman University near Tel Aviv, who grew up in Tehran, told Fox News Digital Iran\u2019s efforts to infiltrate and manipulate Israeli society were “very concerning for Iranian Israelis.”<\/p>\n
“Iranian Israelis are both a target and a victim of the Iranian regime\u2019s policy of antagonism towards Israel,” he said. “We are\u00a0very concerned, not only because of Iran\u2019s support for groups that want to kill Israelis, including Iranian Israelis, but also because Iran is trying to collect intelligence through us.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
An aerial photograph shows protesters outside Israel’s parliament March 27.\u00a0<\/span> (Israeli Knesset)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n“We have seen Iran trying to dupe\u00a0Iranian Israelis to collect intelligence from them in the past,” Javedanfar said. “There is always a concern that if somebody you don\u2019t know is trying to reach\u00a0out to you in Farsi,\u00a0it could be something suspicious, and you have to take great care.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
ISRAELI KIBBUTZ BE’ERI CONFIRMS DEATH OF 2 HOSTAGES SEEN IN HAMAS TERROR GROUP VIDEO<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
Website asking Israelis to fill out the form.<\/span> (\u00a0Israel Security Authority)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nJavedanfar, who moved to Israel via the U.K. in 2004, said until about 2007\u00a0Iranian Israelis would return to visit their old home country, but that stopped after the Iranian regime attempted to recruit some of those who were visiting there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We are still\u00a0very connected to the people of Iran and to Iranian culture,” he said. “And\u00a0we also\u00a0sympathize greatly with the plight of the Iranian people.”<\/p>\n
During the current Gaza war, that sympathy has been reflected, he said, by many Iranians who oppose the extremist regime in their country.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
Israel’s military says this photo shows its troops operating inside the Gaza Strip Nov. 5.<\/span> (Israel Defense Forces via AP)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n“On social media, we have seen that the only people who are overwhelmingly pro-Israel are actually the people of Iran because they also see themselves as victims of Islamic extremism,” said Javedanfar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Guzansky, from the INSS, said, however, that Iran should be viewed as a global problem and not just a problem for Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Iran is there behind the shadows, behind the scenes, moving all different\u00a0parts and all different\u00a0proxies,” he said. Guzansky pointed not only to Hamas in Gaza, but also to Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, who have disrupted global shipping routes by attacking U.S. and international targets in the Red Sea.\u00a0<\/p>\n
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
The Shin Bet uncovered a Telegram channel named BringHomeNow, a play on the official slogan for the forum working to release the hostages.<\/span> (\u00a0Israel Security Authority)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nGuzansky said that because the West \u2014 and Israel \u2014 prioritized addressing Iran\u2019s nuclear ambitions, it failed to pay attention to other threats posed by the regime in the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Israel is fighting Iran in Syria, but it is fighting alone,” he said. “The U.S. is reluctant to get involved and is trying to avoid war at almost any cost. But appeasement will do exactly the opposite. It will bring war closer because you are letting your opponent build its power and grow an appetite \u2013 that is how Iran sees it.”\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n[ad_2]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[ad_1] Read this article for free! Plus get unlimited access to thousands of articles, videos and more with your free account! Please enter a valid email address. By entering your email, you are agreeing to Fox News Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive. To access the content, check …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22586,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22584"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}