JERUSALEM (JTA) — Egyptian state prosecutors have imprisoned a man suspected of spying for Israel. 

The man was ordered held in prison for 15 days pending an investigation, the state-run MENA news agency reported Saturday.

He is accused of working for Israel’s Mossad secret intelligence service since 2011.

The alleged spy reportedly tried to disassociate himself from the Mossad in mid-2011, after he believed his cooperation with the Mossad was exposed, according to the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram. At the time he informed the Egyptian General Intelligence Service that the Mossad had attempted to recruit him, in an effort to throw them off the trail. He continued to work for the Mossad, but was tracked by Egyptian intelligence until his arrest last week.

The man has admitted that he spied for Israel, prosecutors told MENA.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry did not confirm nor deny reports that Egypt was holding a spy for Israel.

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