BREAKING: Shin Bet’s Secretly Arrest, Disappear Bedouin Entrepreneur Accused of Spying for Iran

חשיפה: העציר בפרשה הביטחונית החדשה הוא איש העסקים יעקוב אבו-אלקיעאן (46) מחורה

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Israeli media report that an unnamed individual has been secretly arrested by the Shin Bet and held incommunicado for the past 20 days. He has had no contact with his attorney during that time.   The court ordered his release, but the State has appealed.  It’s highly unusual for courts to order such a release for a Palestinian national security suspect.  One of the reasons for this may be that he is represented by Avi Chimi, the head of the Israel Bar Association.

Israeli media cannot report his name since it is under a police gag order.  A confidential Israeli source informs me that the detainee is Israeli Bedouin businessman, Yaaqub Abu al-Qiaan, age 46 from the Negev town of Hura.  He is an anomaly: a wealthy entrepreneur from a community known for living in poverty and  largely abandoned by the State.  The Calcalist profile linked above describes him living in what he called a “Jordanian Palace” filled with gilded gold fixtures and custom-made wooden furniture.  It had its own pool and jacuzzi as well. Most of the furnishings of the home were imported from Egypt.  He proudly tells his interviewer the manse cost about $3-million, an extraordinary sum considering the vast majority of his fellow Bedouin live below the poverty line.

He himself mentions that when his neighbors tell him he has assimilated (“Ashkenized”), he responds: “I’ve lived the life of a Bedouin growing up living in a tent. Now it’s time for me to taste of the good life.”

Where does his wealth come from? He says he is a building contractor who builds homes for Bedouin families throughout the region.  He also owns an employment agency company providing construction workers, cleaning services and agricultural workers.  He has especially close connections to the Palestinian Authority.  His companies are reputed to earn revenue of about $25-million a year.

A separate Israeli source told me key details about the charges against al-Qiaan.  He’s accused of contact with Iranian agents, who tasked him with photographing IDF bases and installations in the Negev.  Among the targets was the Israeli nuclear reactor in Dimona.

This is part and parcel of the continuing, dangerous cat and mouse game played by Israel and Iran seeking to probe for weaknesses and penetrate the security of each country.