JERUSALEM: Israeli security forces announced the arrest of two people on suspicion of working with Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese military group.

According to a statement released by Israel's Shin Bet intelligence service, the two men, identified as Arab Israeli citizens, met Hezbollah agents in Turkey last November, according to the Xinhua report.

The two were requested to bring weapons into Israel and to set up a terror cell to kidnap Israelis, offer intelligence on potential targets for missile attacks, and discover probable crossing points from Lebanon into Israeli territory. The two men were apprehended in a joint Shin Bet, military, and police operation.

In a second statement, the military stated that "Israel's security forces will continue to operate in the region to preserve security and respond against any attempt to breach the sovereignty of the state of Israel." Israel and Hezbollah are bitter rivals who fought a full-fledged war in 2006, most of which took place on Lebanese soil.

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