An Egyptian trader is to be tried in the High Security Court on charges of spying for Israel and recruiting agents to report on telecoms secrets in Egypt, Lebanon and Syria, a judicial source said.

Tareq Abdel Razzak, the 37-year-old owner of an import-export business, was arrested in May, the source said.

Two Israeli agents linked to Razzak are on the run and warrants have been issued for their arrests, the source added. No trial date has yet been set.

The three suspects are accused of "espionage and endangering the interests of Egypt" and "carrying out activities which could lead to a breakdown in relations" with Syria and Lebanon.

Razzak is accused of supplying Israel's Mossad spy agency, between 2007 and 2010, with the names of potential recruits employed in the telecommunications sectors in Egypt, Lebanon and Syria.

According to a court statement, Razzak's first contact with Mossad was in 2007, when he received an email while looking for work in China.

The same year he met the Israeli agents in Thailand, where he was asked to set up an import-export business back home as a cover for his real work with Mossad.

Through the Internet, Razzak's company looked for Syrian suppliers of olive oil and pastry, allowing him to travel to Syria several times to look for recruits.

Following instructions from his two accomplices, during one of his visits he forwarded a sum of money to a Syrian agent of Mossad on behalf of the two accused Israelis.

He later set up a website that offered telecommunications jobs in Egypt, Syria and Lebanon, with the aim of looking for more potential recruits, the statement said.

In Lebanon, more than 100 people have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Israel since April 2009, including telecom employees, members of the security forces and active duty troops.