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| Family Sees TV Talent Scout Where Israeli Authorities See Jihadist Spy | Family Sees TV Talent Scout Where Israeli Authorities See Jihadist Spy |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| JERUSALEM — The young man was on his way out of Gaza on an innocent-seeming mission: to scout potential contestants for his embryonic “Palestinians Got Talent” television show and meet the show’s West Bank staff in Ramallah. He had an Israeli permit for the journey. | JERUSALEM — The young man was on his way out of Gaza on an innocent-seeming mission: to scout potential contestants for his embryonic “Palestinians Got Talent” television show and meet the show’s West Bank staff in Ramallah. He had an Israeli permit for the journey. |
| But the Israeli authorities say the would-be impresario — Majd Oweida, 22 — had been doing something sinister: spying for Iranian-backed extremists. | But the Israeli authorities say the would-be impresario — Majd Oweida, 22 — had been doing something sinister: spying for Iranian-backed extremists. |
| They arrested Mr. Oweida at the Erez checkpoint last month, and on Wednesday they charged him in an Israeli court with, among other things, hacking into computers at Israel’s international airport and intercepting transmissions from the country’s military drones. | They arrested Mr. Oweida at the Erez checkpoint last month, and on Wednesday they charged him in an Israeli court with, among other things, hacking into computers at Israel’s international airport and intercepting transmissions from the country’s military drones. |
| The charge sheet says he was recruited by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group about five years ago. He soon became the group’s cyber expert, the Israeli authorities said, and developed software that allowed Islamic Jihad to monitor road traffic and the movement of security forces in Israel; to view video images from Israeli air force drones in real time as they flew over Gaza; and to track flights in and out of Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv and see lists of the passengers on board. | The charge sheet says he was recruited by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group about five years ago. He soon became the group’s cyber expert, the Israeli authorities said, and developed software that allowed Islamic Jihad to monitor road traffic and the movement of security forces in Israel; to view video images from Israeli air force drones in real time as they flew over Gaza; and to track flights in and out of Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv and see lists of the passengers on board. |
| According to Israel’s Shin Bet security agency, Mr. Oweida has confessed to developing the hacking programs and showing his Islamic Jihad handler how to use them. | According to Israel’s Shin Bet security agency, Mr. Oweida has confessed to developing the hacking programs and showing his Islamic Jihad handler how to use them. |
| Dawood Shehab, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad in Gaza, said the group knew nothing about Mr. Oweida or anybody else mentioned in the case. | Dawood Shehab, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad in Gaza, said the group knew nothing about Mr. Oweida or anybody else mentioned in the case. |
| “I believe there is exaggeration about his arrest,” Mr. Shehab said on Wednesday in a telephone interview. “All I can say is that Israel always uses cheap techniques and ways to use our young men and pressure them and create frustration among Gazans.” | “I believe there is exaggeration about his arrest,” Mr. Shehab said on Wednesday in a telephone interview. “All I can say is that Israel always uses cheap techniques and ways to use our young men and pressure them and create frustration among Gazans.” |
| Shin Bet, he added, “wants to prove to their people that they can do something, and the victim is usually our young people.” | Shin Bet, he added, “wants to prove to their people that they can do something, and the victim is usually our young people.” |
| Mr. Oweida’s brother, Amjad Oweida, 23, the executive director of “Palestinians Got Talent,” said his family was shocked by the charges and denied that Majd, the show’s general supervisor, had ties to Islamic Jihad or any other Palestinian faction. | Mr. Oweida’s brother, Amjad Oweida, 23, the executive director of “Palestinians Got Talent,” said his family was shocked by the charges and denied that Majd, the show’s general supervisor, had ties to Islamic Jihad or any other Palestinian faction. |
| “He is just a talented young man who can use and work on computers in a brilliant way,” Amjad Oweida said of his younger brother. “He cannot hack or do cyberattacks.” He added: “Majd did not work for Islamic Jihad or any other political party. He used to work for Palestine’s Talent Club to help talented people leave Gaza for TV programs outside.” | “He is just a talented young man who can use and work on computers in a brilliant way,” Amjad Oweida said of his younger brother. “He cannot hack or do cyberattacks.” He added: “Majd did not work for Islamic Jihad or any other political party. He used to work for Palestine’s Talent Club to help talented people leave Gaza for TV programs outside.” |
| According to the charge sheet, Mr. Oweida met his Islamic Jihad handler, Ismail Dahdouh, by chance sometime in 2011 at Mr. Oweida’s father’s electrical appliance store, and told Mr. Dahdouh that he was looking for work. The charge sheet said Islamic Jihad started Mr. Oweida off as a sound engineer and host at a radio station affiliated with the group’s student union, and was soon asking him to develop hacking programs as well. | According to the charge sheet, Mr. Oweida met his Islamic Jihad handler, Ismail Dahdouh, by chance sometime in 2011 at Mr. Oweida’s father’s electrical appliance store, and told Mr. Dahdouh that he was looking for work. The charge sheet said Islamic Jihad started Mr. Oweida off as a sound engineer and host at a radio station affiliated with the group’s student union, and was soon asking him to develop hacking programs as well. |
| The first cybertarget, the charge sheet said, was a computer system that keeps track of movement on Israel’s roads; hacking that system allowed Islamic Jihad to spot where in Israel the rockets fired from Gaza had landed. About a year later it was the drones. | The first cybertarget, the charge sheet said, was a computer system that keeps track of movement on Israel’s roads; hacking that system allowed Islamic Jihad to spot where in Israel the rockets fired from Gaza had landed. About a year later it was the drones. |
| The authorities said Mr. Oweida told Mr. Dahdouh that he needed a frequency reader, a satellite dish with an Amos Satellite lens and a laptop computer for the project. Mr. Dahdouh obtained the equipment from the United States and smuggled it into Gaza through tunnels from Egypt, according to the court documents. Israel said that the frequency reader stopped being able to penetrate the drone systems’ transmissions sometime in 2014. | |
| The authorities say Mr. Oweida is suspected of having broken into the airport system in part by stealing the identity of an American man who had access to the data. Mr. Oweida is also accused of hacking into the Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza to obtain the Palestinian population registry for Islamic Jihad’s use. | The authorities say Mr. Oweida is suspected of having broken into the airport system in part by stealing the identity of an American man who had access to the data. Mr. Oweida is also accused of hacking into the Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza to obtain the Palestinian population registry for Islamic Jihad’s use. |
| Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls Gaza, said on Wednesday that it had no information about the case. | Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls Gaza, said on Wednesday that it had no information about the case. |
| Mr. Oweida was traveling with a group of other young Gazans working for the talent show when he arrived at the Erez checkpoint on Feb. 23. Two Israeli soldiers arrived and took him into custody. | Mr. Oweida was traveling with a group of other young Gazans working for the talent show when he arrived at the Erez checkpoint on Feb. 23. Two Israeli soldiers arrived and took him into custody. |