JERUSALEM // Israel has indicted an activist from its Arab minority for allegedly spying for the Lebanese militant group Hizbollah. The Shin Bet security service says Amir Makhoul confessed to meeting with a Hizbollah agent and providing the group with information about Israelis and sites within the country. But Adalah - an Arab legal centre in Israel that is representing Mr Makhoul - says he denies the allegations and that he confessed to the false accusations under duress.
Mr Makhoul was arrested on May 6 but Israel maintained a gag order on the case. It later released limited information and fully lifted the gag order today, after the charges were filed. Adalah says another Arab-Israeli will appear in court today on similar charges, all of which he denies. Also today, a second Arab-Israeli, Omar Saeed, was indicted on lesser charges of contacting a foreign agent, and transmitting information to an enemy. Mr Saeed also was prevented from speaking to a lawyer for 16 days after his arrest on April 24. The case has raised tensions between Israel's Jewish majority and its Arab minority. Israeli Arabs make up about one-fifth of the country's population. Although they enjoy the rights of citizenship - unlike the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip - Israeli Arabs suffer from discrimination, high unemployment and poverty rates. * AP