Moroccan Security Forces Arrest Lebanese Affiliated With Hezbollah

Foreign currency and different driving licenses were discovered at the home of the Lebanese suspect in Casablanca Wednesday [GettyImages]
Foreign currency and different driving licenses were discovered at the home of the Lebanese suspect in Casablanca Wednesday [GettyImages]
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Moroccan Security Forces Arrest Lebanese Affiliated With Hezbollah

Foreign currency and different driving licenses were discovered at the home of the Lebanese suspect in Casablanca Wednesday [GettyImages]
Foreign currency and different driving licenses were discovered at the home of the Lebanese suspect in Casablanca Wednesday [GettyImages]

Moroccan authorities said late Thursday they arrested a Lebanese national affiliated with the Hezbollah party over charges of committing fraud and identity theft.

They said the 57-year-old man features on the Interpol list of wanted criminals.

The National Brigade of the Judicial Police (BNPJ), upon intelligence provided by the National Security Directorate, (DGST), arrested the Hezbollah member last Wednesday in Casablanca over charges of fraud, identity theft, and possession of identity documents and passports reported stolen.

The suspect is accused of defrauding money from several victims in Morocco. He also used stolen French and Portuguese passports, fooled his victims claiming he is a manager of foreign companies.

At his residence, the security forces found two stolen French and Portuguese passports, registered as stolen in the database of Interpol, several identity documents, French driving licenses with Portuguese, French, and Italian names as well as an unspecified amount of money in foreign currency and local Dirham.

The investigations are conducted in coordinating with Interpol as well as with the countries concerned to determine the circumstances of the declaration of the theft of the seized passports.

Morocco accuses Iran and its Lebanese Shiite ally, Hezbollah, of training and arming fighters of the Polisario Front, a Western Sahara independence movement.

US officials have long been concerned that central and west African countries could become safe havens for financiers of Hezbollah looking to take advantage of weak financial regulation.



Netanyahu Says he Ordered Military to Prepare for Intense War in Lebanon if Ceasefire Violated

(FILES) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures after speaking during the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on September 27, 2024. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
(FILES) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures after speaking during the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on September 27, 2024. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
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Netanyahu Says he Ordered Military to Prepare for Intense War in Lebanon if Ceasefire Violated

(FILES) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures after speaking during the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on September 27, 2024. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
(FILES) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures after speaking during the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on September 27, 2024. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday during an interview with Israeli Channel 14 that he had ordered the military to be prepared for an intense war in Lebanon if the ceasefire's framework is violated.

The ceasefire was brokered by the United States and France to end the conflict between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, fought in parallel with the Gaza war. The truce lasts for 60 days in the hope of reaching a permanent cessation of hostilities.

The ceasefire deal stipulates that unauthorized military facilities south of the Litani River should be dismantled, but does not mention military facilities north of the river.

Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed at least 3,961 people and injured 16,520 others since October 2023, the Lebanese health ministry said on Thursday.

Hezbollah strikes have killed 45 civilians in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. At least 73 Israeli soldiers have been killed in northern Israel, the Golan Heights, and in combat in southern Lebanon, according to Israeli authorities.

Under the ceasefire terms, Israeli forces can take up to 60 days to withdraw from southern Lebanon but neither side can launch offensive operations.

Netanyahu also said that conditions for reaching a possible deal to secure the release of Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip have considerably improved.
Asked about a possible hostage deal in the interview, Netanyahu said: "I think the conditions have very much changed for the better."
He did not give specific details.