Charles Ayoub, the editor of Lebanon's Diyar newspaper, which is considered close to Syria and Hizbullah, has spoken how the Israeli Mossad tried to recruit him through a third party some to 9 months ago. It is beleiived the third party was an Egyptian citizen, whose arrest in Cairo was announced on Monday.
The Egyptian suspect is Tarek Razek Hussein Hassan, who "tried to recruit the editor of a Lebanese daily to work for Israeli intelligence," investigators told the Egyptian media, without mentioning the name of the journalist or the paper.
Charles Ayoub is a famous journalist known for his hostility to Israel.
Ayoub said Tarek Razek contacted him some 9 months ago and offered over US$200,000 and "other temptations," Ayoub told Alarabiya. According to Ayoub, who in the past served as a security officer in the Lebanese Army, conveyed that Tariq had invited him to deliver lectures in the province of Macau in China, Thailand and South Africa regarding the situation in the Middle East. "He told me that my trips will be in first class and I will stay in the best hotels. In addition, all of my expenses will be paid by credit cards. I suspected him and refused," he said.
Ayoub expressed his willingness to testify against the Egyptian.
