Cairo, Egypt – Egyptian Charged As Spy Praises Israel.

Cairo, Egypt — An Egyptian accused of spying for Israel praised the Jewish state for its advanced technology on Tuesday and claimed documents he passed on were so outdated they posed no threat to Egypt’s security.

Mohammed Sayed Saber, 35, a nuclear engineer with Egypt’s atomic agency, has been charged with stealing secret documents and giving them to the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, in exchange for $17,000, and with the aim to harm Egyptian national security, the prosecutor said.

An upbeat Saber appeared before the judge in a white prison jumpsuit at the start of his trial Tuesday, flashing a victory sign to media crammed into the dusty Cairo courtroom.

“I don’t hide my admiration of Israel … It has reached a very high technological and scientific level,” Saber said. “To seek to benefit from Israel scientific expertise, is not shameful or wrong … They are a very organized and pragmatic society with definite goals, unlike chaotic societies.”

“I don’t have animosity toward the Israeli people — why should I? The fact that we had wars against Israel doesn’t mean that we remain enemies forever,” added Saber, who has never visited the Jewish state. [AP]