The flag of Hezbollah flies in Syria, where Hezbollah has become an active element in a civil war that has claimed the lives of 80,000 people. Photo: Hezbollah Flag/Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org– A Jerusalem District Court judge sentenced an eastern Jerusalem man who joined the Hezbollah terrorist organization during a trip to Beirut to 42 months in prison.

Assam Mishara was convicted under a plea bargain for contact with a foreign agent and transfer of information to an enemy. Mishara, who holds an Israeli ID card, was formerly employed as a driver for Egged, one of the largest bus companies in Israel.

In his sentence, Jerusalem District Court Judge Moshe Yoad Hacohen wrote that Mishara and his wife left Israel for Jordan on June 20, 2012, and from there flew to Beirut. Mishara arrived in Dahiya, a suburb south of the capital city known as a Hezbollah stronghold. There, he gave the name of his hotel and his room number to a guard, and told him he would like to meet with members of the Shiite terrorist group. He received an email address and password and was instructed to open a Facebook account to correspond with the organization.

“In recent years, there have been cases presented to the court of individuals making contact with hostile groups. This phenomenon requires deterrent punishment,” the judge wrote.